Diguised Intentions
by liidg
Summary: With the failures at the Ministry and the Hogwarts raid, the fate of the Malfoy family lies with Narcissa's ability to deceive the Order.  A/U after OOTP.  OOC.  Sort of Hermione/Viktor to start but is really Hermione/Narcissa.
1. Chapter 1

A/N So this was a one shot that I expanded into a few chapters. There will be to versions a very clean one I labeled T and the Twisted M version. You can pick your poison. Chapters 1 and 2 will be relatively the same but the story will change a bit from there and both will come to the same conclusion. The story still progresses very quickly but it is now going to be 5-7 chapters as opposed to 1 or 2. The conclusion for both stories will leave room for a sequel and if and when I write the sequel there will only be one and it will be M.

This is merely a writing exercise and not for profit. All characters and the Harry Potter world belong to people who are not nicknamed liidg and this is no way intended to infringe on any rights.

Disguised Intentions

Chapter 1

"Please my Lord! I will do anything." Narcissa Malfoy, queen of the pureblooded society was on her knees begging like a vagrant.

"It was bad enough that your husband failed me but your son failed as well...why wouldn't I kill them both?"

"Please my Lord kill me in Draco's stead. I know he has failed you but he is only a boy."

"Fortunately for you Bella has pleaded on your behalf. Your sister has come up with an alternate way to get to Dumbledore. Bring them in!"

Draco, Lucius and Viktor Krum were dragged in by a group Death Eaters. Narcissa let out a sob seeing her beaten and broken son and husband. In her mind Lucius reaped what he sowed but Draco was merely the recipient of the punishment for his father's failures. When Lucius had failed to bring the prophecy to the Dark Lord, Draco had been required to take the mark. He was ordered to kill Dumbledore. Each of his attempts had failed. He had created an entry to Hogwart's through the use of vanishing cabinets but the raid had been thwarted by Aurors, the Order of the Phoenix and most importantly Severus Snape. The Death Eaters had been turned away and the only Order member injured was Bill Weasley who was mauled by Fenir Greyback. The Death Eaters had lost Rowle and Gibbon. Unbeknownst to them, the Potion's Master had been a spy for the Order and had been instrumental in many of the Dark Lord's failures. Voldemort was furious at the betrayal and the failures that had resulted from it and Severus was now number three on the Dark Lord's hit list. Only Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore ranked higher than the Potion's Master.

"Due to the interference of Severus Snape in our raid on Hogwarts and his possible interference in the Ministry fiasco I have decided to be magnanimous and let your family live...for now. There is a caveat. As I said your sister has come up with a plan to infiltrate Hogwarts and potentially the Order of the Phoenix. I have one problem with our plan; the new dark magic wards at Hogwarts sense the Dark Mark even when the person is polyjuiced. I don't have any unmarked followers I trust, but I trust you to...as you said...do anything for your son. Rolanda Hooch has met an unfortunate end and Hogwarts is in need of a new flying instructor. Our friends on the Board of Governors have informed us that her replacement is Viktor Krum who is apparently quite friendly with the mudblood that is always at Potter's side. You will be replacing Viktor. You have until the Christmas holiday to find out what Potter is up to and kill Dumbledore. If your information proves valuable enough or you manage to infiltrate the Order successfully I may not have you kill the old man. Fail me and I feed your loved ones to Nagini piece by piece."

That night she sat down with Draco and they went through everything she needed to know about infiltrating Hogwarts. He told her who the students were and what cliques existed. She then prepared for her interrogation of Viktor Krum. She needed to be successful and was more than willing to torture the dense quidditch player if necessary but the Carrows were more than happy to volunteer. She would save her family even if she had to take the whole school down to do it.

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Hermione threw another spell at Ron, this one silencing him completely.

"Honestly Ronald, I accept your dating Lavender, I accept that you're an idiot but I cannot accept that I have to spend the whole summer listening to you being an idiot about Lavender. Quit your whining and just owl her you dolt!"

She heard a chuckle behind her and saw Severus Snape standing in the doorway. She had relocated her parents after the attack at Hogwarts and moved in to Grimmauld Place to spend the summer with the Order. She had turned seventeen the previous September which emancipated her for the purposes of the Wizarding world and did three important things: it allowed her to legally apparate which she was now licensed to do so freely, it removed her trace which allowed her to practice magic freely and travel about without being traceable and it made her old enough to join the Order. She had been inducted during the previous Christmas holiday. Harry and Ron were also to be inducted at the end of the summer. Ron had turned seventeen in March but was waiting for Harry so they could join together and Harry didn't turn seventeen until the end of July.

The Weasleys, Remus Lupin and Severus Snape had also taken up residence at Grimmauld Place for the holiday. They were all targets for Voldemort and being hounded by Scrimeagour and the Ministry. Professor Snape had actually become tolerable and even pleasant to her at times now that he was no longer in the employ of the Dark Lord. He was still sarcastic and completely hostile to everyone including Harry and Ron whom he considered dunderheads, pleasant for Snape was a different scale than the average human being. Her snarky to hostile ratio had changed with the man which for Snape was as good as it got. She had learned how to not antagonize the difficult man and in turn he had begun to respect her intelligence. After the battle she had eventually figured out who the Half-Blood Prince was and returned his potion's book to him. She never told Harry whose book it was. Harry hated Severus and still held the man responsible for his godfather's death. Severus was impressed enough with her research and discretion to lend her the book with the promise that she never let Harry know. Two things became abundantly clear to her. Harry was still dreadful at potions and was only saved by the book and Severus Snape may be one of the most brilliant wizards the world knew nothing about. She quickly saw why Harry was so fixated on the book. She had learned more reading Snape's margin notes than she did from many of her professors.

Part of the reason for the truce between the two was that Hermione was on the fast track to a professorship and had been apprenticing with Minerva McGonigall since her induction into the Order. Albus Dumbledore was being pulled in all directions between the war and running the school. Scrimegaour had been scrutinizing every move they made at Hogwarts and had ordered the Aurors to shadow all known Order members. There were squads of Aurors deployed at Hogwarts 'for additional safety'. Dumbledore was giving McGonigall more powers as Deputy Headmistress and was preparing her to take over as Headmistress so he could focus on the war and pull some of the spotlight off of Hogwarts. McGoingall in turn was grooming her replacement in Hermione. Hermione would beat out Severus Snape as the youngest professor in Hogwarts history if she was successful. She was taking her N.E.W.T.s prior to Christmas break and would be taking over the Transfiguration classes for first through fourth years for the rest of the year. The next fall she would be a fully fledged professor at the age of 19.

After she had gone through his potion's book, Snape lent her some of his old text books from other classes. Minerva McGonigall and Filius Flitwick also lent her some of their notes for the summer. The opportunity was fantastic but it had a huge drawback. As much as she liked Ron, she realized they would never be able to have a relationship if she wanted this job. The choice was easy for her which gave her the realization that her feelings were not strong enough to fight for his heart. Their friendship had strengthened once she removed her jealousy from the picture but the downside was that she was the relationship counselor to both Harry and Ron now. She had been so lost in her thoughts she forgot about her friend who gesturing wildly. She removed the Silencing Charm.

"Oi! I am pretty sure there is a rule against Professors using magic on students!"

"She is not a professor yet Mr. Weasley and school is not in session. This is Order headquarters and while we are here we can hex you….as we see fit. I have been requested to summon you two for training. If you two are done playing maybe you would like to pretend there is a war going on" The dark professor stalked off to the basement which had been magically expanded and turned into a training room for the Order members. Hermione rolled her eyes at his theatrics. The man just truly enjoyed being contrary.

They walked down to the basement and found Severus joined by Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin. The recently married couple looked very happy. The attack on Bill had convinced Remus to take the plunge and Hermione was thrilled the two finally got together. A lovesick and moping Tonks was almost as bad as a lovesick Ron. George, Fred and Ginny were already down in the basement as well. It had been decided that there was no way they were going to avoid the battle and therefore they all needed to be trained. The Department of Mysteries would have ended worse than it did if the Order hadn't shown up. Hermione spent months recovering from Dolohov's curse. Sirius had lost his life but had saved them all in the process. Hermione might have been the brightest witch of her age but she had been a liability on the battle field. She knew she would never be Mad Eyed Moody or Dumbledore but she had spent the last year practicing as much as she could so she could hold her own when the time came.

The three Order members barely gave them time to warm up before they went on the offensive. Hermione was knocked across the room by a stunner by Severus and had barely gotten to her feet when Tonks hit her with a leg locker curse. She threw a shield to block the follow up hex and used the counter curse to free her legs. She saw that Fred and George were being backed up by Snape and Ginny and Ron were fighting against Lupin leaving her one on one with Tonks. She looked at Tonks who was grinning at her knowing she had the upper hand. Hermione had learned that her gift was her brains not her brawn. She tossed a petrificus totalus at Lupin catching the werewolf and his wife unaware.

"Ginny help me...Ron help the twins!" The move had caught Tonks completely off guard and the witch fired her next spell too late. She was out of position to defend against Ginny and Hermione and had tripped trying to move back into position. Ginny hit her with the bat-bogey hex and Hermione caught her with a binding spell.

"Well done Ms. Granger. Battle isn't a formal duel and it certainly isn't a game. There are no rules, no referees and the point total is kept in bodies. You turned a disadvantage into an advantage and changed the numbers to your favor." Severus was still repelling the boys' attacks as he was lecturing. He wasn't even short of breath and Hermione knew that all five of them together wouldn't be enough to take him. She shot a stupefy at him and wasn't surprised when he easily deflected it. Since joining the Order and beginning these little training sessions she realized that only Dumbledore and Voldemort were better than he was. Isolation and being bullied are apparently fantastic motivators and he had spent his life working to never be that weak again. He sent out a hex that turned the floor into quicksand miring the boys into the muck.

"Use your strengths" He sent out purple ribbons light which tied the boys together and effectively bound them "and minimize your weaknesses". He turned and put his wand on Hermione and Ginny making it clear they had lost their advantage. She found herself back on the floor and Ginny soon slid next to her. They were both far more proficient in Dark Magic than the boys but they were clearly outmatched.

"Nymphadora, the best way to minimize your weakness is to fight from a chair. You really are your own worst enemy." He drolled as he released her from the bind and removed the hex.

"I had it covered and DON'T call me Nymphadora!"

Hermione laughed at the overly sensitive Auror. Her laughter didn't last long as she found herself hanging upside down.

"It isn't over until your enemy is dead….Never forget that Ms. Granger. I will leave you in Remus and _Nymphadora's _capable hands for the rest of the afternoon." Severus smirked at her floating in the air and walked back upstairs.

She looked over at Tonks who was back to grinning at her, "um…can someone get me down from here?"

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Her training with Minerva had been going well. In fact the hardest challenge she had faced so far was to remember to address her professor and mentor in a more familiar fashion when they weren't in the class room or around the other students. Ron had tried to call the stoic professor by her first name and through a few choice words found out that offer didn't extend to him. Hermione had spent the last month going between Gimmauld Place and Hogwarts as she continued her studies and training. The other professors were thrilled to have Hermione coming aboard and for the most part had been extremely welcoming and helpful to her. When her apprenticeship had been announced the previous winter only three professors that had issues with it. They were Sybil Trelawaney who was still holding a grudge after Hermione stormed out of her class third year and promptly dropped it, Severus Snape who couldn't understand why they were letting the insufferable know-it-all be even bossier and Cuthbert Binns who believed she was too young to teach. She had pointed out to him that he was too dead to teach and that didn't stop him ending the debate right there. It was that remark that had originally earned her Severus Snape's respect. He wouldn't show it until he was exposed as a spy but once he was exposed he got to know her better at faculty meetings and found she wasn't as obnoxious as he thought. Knowing that her hand waiving and over exuberance wouldn't follow her into teaching changed his views on her joining the staff. Plus he had to admit she was the only other person besides him keeping the dunderheaded duo from killing themselves before Potter fulfilled his prophecy.

She spent as much of her free time as possible in the library trying to research Horocruxes. Harry had sat Ron and her down after the battle and told her what he had learned from Slughorn and where he had gone with Dumbledore. He was supposed to show them the note he had found in the fake locket but they had been disturbed by Ministry officials and hadn't had a chance to talk alone since then. She was going back and forth between the library at Grimmauld Place and the Hogwarts library as she prepared for the next year. Hermione would be spending the first semester being a teacher's assistant for most of her professors as she prepared for N.E.W.T.s. She was nervous she would look foolish and wanted to make sure she had everything right so no one even asked about her hours in the library. She used the time to snoop for the cause while preparing for her classes.

Minerva thought that if Hermione worked with each teacher it would give her a view of different perspectives on teaching. So far she had spent a few hours with each of them helping them prepare their lessons for the upcoming year and each one gave her their words of wisdom on teaching. Tralwaney read her palm and told her she would die horribly before she ever taught a class, Septima Vector told her to take no guff, Pamona Sprout suggested kindness but not to be too soft and Hagrid had spent the whole time discussing how amazing his Hermione was. Snape provided color commentary on all of the teachers and lectured Hermione on why his view of teaching was superior. He gave her a copy of The Prince and told her to apply it to the classroom. She was young and a muggleborn and the only way she would be respected was to earn it through a lesson plan of equal parts fear and terror. He told her to go in nasty and take no prisoners if she wanted to control her classes. Thinking about the students she went to school with she realized that he was probably right.

In the beginning of July she began training as an animagus. It was one of the few things she ever struggled with and it was slow going. N.E.W.T. level Transfiguration professors were required to be animagi and as the month rolled on she began to worry. Minerva told her to relax that it often took months if not years for a student to learn if they learned at all and she wouldn't need to do it until the next summer when she would defend for her Transfiguration masters. Hermione didn't do relaxed and she didn't do failure and she was beside herself at her inability to change. Most of the professors gave her support and told her to keep her chin up. Snape had told her she would probably turn into a Chihuahua when she finally transformed since the form of animagi was based on the personality of the witch or wizard. There were still days where she wanted to hex the caustic professor.

There was a huge perk to her new status in that she would be getting her own rooms. The Heads of House received suites near their house but the rest of the faculty had simpler rooms in the faculty wings. Each room had its own bath and there was a faculty lounge shared by all of the staff. Meals could also be ordered up to the lounge if a professor couldn't make it to the meal but attendance at the meals was usually mandatory. She had start moving into her quarters and was thrilled to have a quiet space to study. The room was simple and had enough room for a bed, a desk and each had a small sitting area with a two-seater couch and a few bookshelves but after years of sharing space with the boisterous Weasleys and her Gryffindor bunk mates, the room was her own little slice of Heaven. She had heard that Rolanda Hooch was missing and that Viktor was taking her place. Although she was saddened by the loss of Professor Hooch she was thrilled to have Viktor back at Hogwarts. He was a good friend and she wondered if they might rekindle their relationship now that he would be at Hogwarts full time. She didn't know what was going to happen but one thing she knew for certain was that it was going to be an interesting year.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N So...wasn't expecting that response! So now I am torn. This was a quickie and really glosses over quite a bit. Do I expand it? Do I make it smuttier? I am not really sure here. Opinions welcome. I want to give a shout out to those who tagged the story. A special thanks to Raven, Scout and Asher. Thanks for the reviews!

Disguised Intentions

Chapeter 2

"You can do this Cissy...you need to do this."

"Bella how can you be so cold? He's your nephew."

"I am not being cold, I am being practical. The only thing that matters is our Lord and the cause. If you fail you will be sacrifices necessary for the war. Have you forgotten the lessons of our parents? Toujours pur. You always were the little princess holding yourself out above those around you but never getting your hands dirty. Well they are going to get dirty now. I joined the Dark Lord while you shied away from the mark and I went to Azkaban while you held yourself out as innocent. You fail and I will kill them myself."

"Bella! Stop being so nasty"

"Ok, Ok you never were much fun. I will look after Draco best I can, you know that but you need to do this Cissy. For him….for me. I will try and keep the Dark Lord away from them while you are gone. I have always protected you, from Him, from our parents, from the bullies at school. You cannot play the princess now Cissy. You cannot fail!"

Narcissa knew her sister was half past crazy but she had known she would stay loyal to her family. Bellatrix was more than happy to kill Lucius whom she hated but she would watch over Draco. Lucius had stepped on a lot of toes on his way up and Draco and Narcissa were paying with him on his fall from grace. It was true she had never taken the mark but it wasn't cowardice or an inability to get her hands dirty that kept her away from the Death Eaters. She thought the Dark Lord was a phony, a bully and a fool. She believed in pureblooded superiority but didn't believe in all the killing and ridiculous laws they wanted to pass. The cream would rise to the top and although she didn't associate with mudbloods she didn't need to lock them up in Azkaban. It was uncivilized and brutish. She found the whole business disgusting and had fortunately never been required to take the mark. Lucius had worked his way up through the ranks but had kept both her and Draco away from that life. Now she was on the front lines and Draco had almost been destroyed by taking the mark. There was a part of her that wanted Potter to win so she could rid her family of the Dark Lord.

"Thinking about your mudblood Cissy?"

Narcissa had discovered she had several problems she was facing. The polyjuice potion would give her Viktor's voice but she needed to work on her accent. That was the easy part. The harder part was his relationship with the mudblood girl who was always hassling Draco. Narcissa hated the girl who had humiliated her son at every turn and now she was to be friends with her if not more. The Dark Lord had sent her on this mission to punish her as well as to gain information. No matter how this turned out, her presumed relationship with the Granger girl would destroy her social standing and her humiliation would be complete. The others had taken every chance to mock her over the last month and even Bella joined in on the ribbing. She had heard every slur and nasty joke that could go with her dating the girl. She had tried to get information from the seeker to find out how serious their relationship had been, but he refused to provide her much even after torture. She was going in blind and her son's nemesis was either the key to her success or her demise. For the first time in years Narcissa Malfoy was terrified.

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Harry's birthday was coming up and the protections on the Dursley home would end when Harry turned seventeen. The Dursleys had gone into hinding and they were moving Harry early to avoid an attack. The Order knew that Voldemort was planning something and they set up a plan to provide false information to the Dark Lord. Kingsley Shacklebolt cast a confundus charm on an Auror named Dawlish and he in turn provided a fake date and plan to move Harry to Yaxley. They knew the Ministry was in the Dark Lord's control and so they set them on a false trail. They were moving Harry a week before his birthday and Hermione and Ron were among those helping with the move. Ginny was furious that she hadn't been allowed to help but Molly had been adamant the girl stay behind and help her treat any potential injuries that might arise. Severus, Mad Eye, Fleur, Bill, the twins, Hagrid, Tonks, Remus, Hermione and Ron were all part of the group escorting Harry. Voldemort wasn't a fool and had squads patrolling the area around the Dursley house in case Harry attempted to leave early. Since the trace had not been removed they needed to fly Harry back to the Burrow where they would be spending the rest of the summer. Snape had come up with the idea for them to polyjuice themselves to look like Harry and fly out in pairs. It would confuse any patrols and require them to separate. Hermione had been polyjuiced and paired with Severus Snape. She was still terrified of flying and was happy that her escort was one of their best fighters. They used a thestral as did Bill and Remus who had a polyjuiced Fluer and Fred with them respectively. Mad Eye was paired with George and Tonks was paired with Ron all of which went by broom. Hagrid and Harry went via Hagrid's flying motorcycle. Snape's plan worked perfectly, there were only eight or nine Death Eaters assigned to patrol and they were quickly divided as they chased the pairs. Two pursued Severus and Hermione on broomsticks. Severus hit one of them with a Sectumsempra sending the man plummeting to the ground and Hermione disarmed the other who flew away before Severus could finish the job.

"Ms. Granger if you would please loosen your grip I would like to breathe"

"Sorry sir, I really hate flying and I am not a huge fan of life threatening battles either"

"Clearly. You should have thrown a stronger curse at that Death Eater. There is no place for kindness on the battlefield. We were fortunate this time. Don't do it again. Now that the dunderheaded duo is safe I will drop you off at the Burrow. I have no intention of sticking around to listen to Potter's foolishness so please give him my warmest regards"

As they arrived at the Burrow she hopped off the thestral and Snape continued on to Hogwarts. As the groups arrived it turned out everyone made it through relatively unscathed. Snape, Mad Eye and Bill had all taken out Death Eaters but no one could confirm who was hit. Snape's plan had worked beautifully and the patrols were too confused by the numerous Harrys to be effective. Once Molly had confirmed everyone was in one piece and fed Harry, Ron and Hermione excused themselves from the rest of the Order and went upstairs to plan and catch up.

Harry told them the rest of the story about the Horocruxes and the cave and pulled out the note from R.A.B. He explained how Dumbledore had drunk the Drink of Despair and having to practically care the headmaster back.

"So we have to sort out who R.A.B. might be. I will check the library and see what I can find out. I am going to Hogwarts right after the wedding so I can pull the old school annuals as well."

Ron and Harry rolled their eyes and Ron couldn't resist throwing in a "Yes Professor Mione."

Harry turned serious, "so we won't actually see you as much will we? How are we going to do D.A. practices and work on these things?"

"Relax Harry, yes I will be busier and I will no longer be sitting next to you in class or at meals but that doesn't end our friendship. I will still come and practice with the D.A. and I will still spend time with you guys…no matter how destructive to my reputation that might be. Even better, once I start teaching I will get an office which means we will have a headquarters for all of our nefarious plotting"

"You have been spending too much time reading Rita Skeeter articles about us" Harry chuckled. "Just don't give Ron a key. He might be tempted to use it for snogging sessions with Lavender."

Ron had no desire to be outdone in the ribbing department, "Unless of course it's already being used by Professor 'Mione and our new flying instructor. I hear Viktor is returning _Hermy-own-ninny!"_

"Viktor's English has seriously improved since he has been playing for Puddlemere United and you aren't in a position to mock won won"

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Draco and Lucius had been left alone for the summer. Voldemort had completely taken over the Manor and confined the two of them to their wing but had let up on the beatings much to the dismay of many of the Death Eaters. Narcissa had been studying Viktor's accent throughout the summer and had it down pat. She was also grateful that he had been playing for Puddlemere United for the last two seasons which had diluted his accent and improved his diction and vocabulary. She had heard quite a bit of his new vocabulary listening to him spout insults at his captors. He certainly perfected his knowledge of english swear words. Unfortunately the boy died before he would provide her any useful information. The Carrows had been overzealous in their interrogation of him one night and she couldn't do anything to save him. Draco had little more to offer her about the Bulgarian except to confirm he was friends with the mudblood and they dated at one point.

Draco was still wanted by the Ministry for his part in the attack on Hogwarts and was staying at the Manor. The Dark Lord would never have allowed him to leave anyways. If Narcissa could get Draco to safety she would at any cost, even if that cost was hers and Lucius' lives. Her son had become sullen and mostly stayed in his bedroom to avoid the bullying of the Carrows and Lestranges. Rod had spent years playing second fiddle to Lucius and was happy to rub their fall from grace in as often as he could and he sought out Draco to torment whenever his wife wasn't around. Bella could only do so much...would only do so much...to protect him. Her husband was a nasty piece of work with a personality twisted enough to perfectly match her sister. Narcissa was terrified of both Rod and his brother Rabastan and prayed Draco would be alright in her absence.

Narcissa packed her trunk trying to remember all of the things she would need for the school year. It had been well over two decades since she had been in Hogwarts and the fact that she was going in as a professor didn't make her any less nervous. She had loved school and excelled in her classes. Her O.W.L. scores were some of the highest for her generation but after her fifth year her parents had arranged for her marriage to Lucius Malfoy. She was devastated by the news. She found the boy arrogant and obnoxious and he had made it clear he expected his wife to be on his arm not at a job. She had spent the summer crying to her older sister hoping for a reprieve. Bella was afraid that Narcissa would do something crazy and start dating a muggleborn like Andy had. She had pleaded to her parents not to make Narcissa marry the boy but they had been adamant. Her father had crucio'd Narcissa until she lost consciousness for bringing Bellatrix in to their dispute and for questioning his judgment. Bella offered to go to the Dark Lord but Narcissa didn't want her sister any more beholden to the man than she already was and she had a feeling it wouldn't end well. Narcissa accepted her fate but her grades suffered for it as did her friendships. She had perfected the Malfoy mantra, cold, cruel and calculating and turned herself to ice never looking back at the life that could have been. Returning to Hogwarts was reminding her of all the things she could be and once was. She now wondered if her life had been different if she had run away like Andy did. Of course Andromeda had no choice as she had fallen in love with a mudblood. Narcissa had never known love but the thought of chasing after a filthy muggleborn disgusted her and brought her back to the present. This wasn't about who she was; it was about who she needed to be. Draco and Lucius needed her to succeed. She felt two arms wrap around her and she leaned into her sister's hug. Bella was on the wrong side of crazy and mean as a snake but she had always watched over her kid sister.

"You can do this Cissy. You will not fail. I will keep an eye on Draco for you."

"Thank you Bella. Where is my husband?"

"In his rooms. He is too much of a coward to even come to your rooms to say goodbye. Dont worry, I will be sure to tell him you miss him dearly."

The next morning Narcissa said her goodbyes to Draco. Lucius had drank himself into a stupor again and never woke to say goodbye. She expected nothing less from the man who had spent year after year serving himself and no one else. She drank her potion and felt herself changing into Viktor. She had enough polyjuice potion and samples to last her for life if necessary and had extend the doses so she no longer had to drink every hour. When Alecto had told her of Victor's death she had taken every hair off his body. She only needed one hair per vial. The vials held enough doses for a day. The hair on his head alone was enough to keep her disguised throughout the next few years. The potion tasted acidic and had almost a citrus quality which surprised her. Once she had changed completely she gave a quick test of her voice and then apparated to the gates of Hogwarts. The staff was expected to be at the school weeks before the students and most of the staff lived there full time. She was arriving a month early since it was her first year teaching. She would be given quarters and then be given time to get acquainted with Hogwarts, its rules and its customs. Fortunately Viktor had spent quite a bit of time running about the halls during the Triwizard Tournament and she wouldn't have to explain her familiarity with the school. She was met at the gates by Filch and was surprised to see that the squib was still alive and cranky as ever. She had to catch herself and remember that Viktor Krum tolerated squibs and liked mudbloods.

"I am here…"

"I know why you're here and who you are. Viktor Krum famous quidditch star coming to teach at Hogwarts. I don't care who you are, I expect you to mind the school rules and keep your students in line. Follow me, I will bring you to your quarters."

"I was to meet the Headmaster"

"Dumbledore and McGonigall have left for the Weasley wedding. The Headmaster said he would see you there. Why aren't you there?

"I wanted to put my things in my quarters first. Please lead the way." She hadn't been there a minute and things were already going wrong. She had heard that one of the Weasley boys was marrying some French girl but she didn't know or care much about it. Why would Viktor be invited? She needed some answers quick.

"So Mr. Filch you didn't sound like you approve of the wedding. Is it the Bride or the Groom?"

"Ms. Delacour wasn't much trouble when she was here but those Weasleys are nothing but trouble!"

Delacour, she was one of the Triwizard champions. Narcissa remembered because Draco had a crush on the girl and wrote home about her constantly. She must have become friendly with Viktor. It looked like she was going to a wedding tonight. Filch showed her where her quarters where located and fortunately left her alone after that. She took out a set of dress robes and started heading up to the apparition point. She had a huge problem. She had no idea where the Burrow was.

She was pacing about the apparition point debating whether to send a patronus to Bella to ask when she was joined by Filius Flitwick.

"Mr. Krum, you look dapper this evening. Attending the wedding as well?"

She wasn't surprised by the statement. She had always assumed him to be a fruit but she now had her way into the Burrow, "Professor Flitwick. Yes, I was just heading over but I seem to have misplaced my invitation and I have never been to the Burrow before"

"Please call me Filius. Why don't you grab a hold and I will take us both there."

The diminutive teacher performed the side-along apparition with ease and Narcissa found herself in front of the famous Burrow. Her sister was right….it was a complete dump. She nudged herself to stay in character and put up her occlumency shields. Dumbledore was known legillimens and she couldn't take any chances on being discovered. She now needed to lose her overly affectionate escort before he started composing poetry or something. Her answer came in the form of the mudblood Hermione Granger who pulled her into a hug and pulled her away from Flitwick.

Hermione apologized to her future coworker as she stole his entertainment, "Sorry Professor, I just need to borrow Viktor for a moment"

She took Narcissa's arm and led her over to where Ron and Harry were whispering along the way, "Viktor, what are you doing? You know Filius is sweet on you. Don't lead the poor man on!"

Narcissa found herself stuck with the trio throughout the night but it wasn't as bad as anticipated. She had to give Hermione credit as she made sure that 'Viktor' did not end up alone or in awkward situations as proper manners dictated. Hermione was neither particularly flirtatious or affectionate and Narcissa was relieved that she didn't have to deal with romantic overtures this early in the game. Narcissa had spent time over the summer getting used to being Viktor and had made it through all of the awkward issues of becoming a male but she had no intention of playing the role that well. She didn't even know that she could play the role if called upon. Knowing that she wouldn't have to bed the girl allowed her to relax a bit and she was managing the wedding pretty well due to Viktor's stoic personality. She evaded questions with one word answers and stuck to Hermione like glue. Hermione was protective of Viktor and kept Narcissa from long winded conversations and also kept the fans away. It had never occurred to her when she was taking on Viktor's persona that she would be dealing with fans. Narcissa didn't know what to make of the swooning girls nor did she know who many of the people who approached her were and she was thankful for Hermione's interference. She was particularly invaluable when Dumbledore and McGonigall came over to chat. Hermione guided the conversation towards classes and teaching and Narcissa only had to nod at the appropriate places. She could feel Dumbledore picking at her occlumency walls and she put up as many false layers as possible. She didn't know if the man was suspicious or if he was just being nosy, he was one of the only legillimens that could skim thoughts and peek in without noticeably casting the spell and he was known for scanning thoughts frequently. It was how he appeared omniscient all the time. She pushed some lascivious thoughts about Hermione his way. The ploy worked and she felt him retreat quickly.

The most awkward part of the evening came towards the end when Hermione pulled her towards the dance floor. Dancing was expected of all purebloods and Narcissa was quite skilled especially at the traditional waltzes, but she didn't have any experience leading. Now that she was Viktor she had to take control and be the 'man'. Her stomach did flip flops as Hermione placed her hand on her shoulder and Narcissa began to lead her around the floor. She stepped on Hermione's toes within the first few steps but after a few minutes she got the hang of it and the two spent the rest of the evening on the dance floor. She hated the girl for who she was and everything she had done to Draco but she had to admit she was a terrific date.

As the night came to an end Hermione hugged the Potter boy and Weasleys goodbye and the two headed to the apparition point. Hermione was going to spend the rest of the summer at Hogwarts working on her internship. This time would give Narcissa an edge on finding out information on Potter. She heard pops around her as they landed back at Hogwarts. The other staff who attended the wedding had come back with them. She bid the other staff goodbye and took Hermione's arm and escorted her back to the staff quarters, bowing good night before retiring to her own room. She had made it through the first night safely and undetected.

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"You wished to see me Headmaster?"

"Thank you for coming Severus. I believe we have a bit of a problem to discuss. Tom isn't one for originality and we have another infiltrator in our midsts. Lemon drop?"

Severus took a seat next to a fuming Minerva McGonigall and refused the offered candy.

"Again? Let me guess, Viktor Krum? Rolanda's disappearance was far too suspicious.

From Minerva's demeanor I would assume you are going to allow our infiltrator to carry on with the ruse. I thought the Dark Lord knew of the new wards"

"Indeed he does Severus but he found someone without the mark. Unfortunately for our would-be spy I had borrowed the Marauder's Map from Harry after the raid last year and in the meantime I have made a few tweaks to it. It confirmed my suspicions after the wedding. The use of polyjuice by both sides had become to frequent not to come up with a detection system. I can't believe Tom is doing it again."

Minerva chimed in, unable to control her displeasure any longer, "Albus, you manipulative old coot, I have allowed you to use my students as bait and play dangerous games with this school time and time again but we all know that Hermione was romantically involved with Viktor and to allow her to rekindle that flame unaware of this deception is unacceptable! To make it worse you won't even reveal his real identity."

"Minerva, as I told you before, Hermione is in no danger from this particular person. I seriously doubt that this 'Viktor' will even try to pursue any relationship with her. They will be focused on the task at hand"

Severus' eyebrow raised, "You are gambling the Gryffindor Princess' virtue on a hunch. Very bold…..I approve." Minerva had a look on her face that would have terrified any other recipient. Severus was immune to it having faced down the Dark Lord so many times. "I am sorry Minerva but they spend more time in danger than they do being safe. In fact, they seek it out. This isn't about safety, you just don't like the thought of poor little Hermione Granger taking one for the team, but her fate will be far worse if we fail."

"You see Minerva, Severus concurs and he has a valid point. I am sure he will agree to look after your student as well and help protect her. Now let me fill you two in on my plans…."

An hour later Severus left the Headmaster's office being trailed by a furious Minerva McGonigall. He respected Minerva and she had always looked out for him, even when no one else did. He felt he owed her a little solace.

"Take a deep breath Minerva…Hermione will be fine."

"How do you know that? Some Death Eater is going to be trying to bed her all year and you say she will be fine!"

"I know the Death Eaters better than you. They don't have the mark which would mean the Dark Lord didn't trust them enough to give it to them or they refused to take it. They had to be good enough on a broom to pass for Viktor Krum and the person who did this would have to be a strong occlumens to be around both the Headmaster and myself and not be caught. The only person who qualifies and would be in a position that the Dark Lord would trust them to carry out this mission is Narcissa Malfoy. You didn't catch that Albus referred to the spy as they and a person not him and a man? She is a master occlumens, exceptional at magic, she played seeker for Slytherin and was damn good until Lucius made her quit the team and she can be trusted by the Dark Lord. He has the one thing that she would fight for….Draco. I am sure of it. Minerva….I know the Headmaster won't approve but if we can find and free Draco we can turn Narcissa. She won't fight for Lucius but she will do anything for her son. Will you help me?"

"If I can protect Hermione I will do whatever it takes. Why are you so interested in saving Hermione?"

"I'm not. I am a practical man and if you precious Gryffindor needs to win the war on her back I would have no qualms with it. Draco is my godson and Narcissa was one of the only students in Hogwarts to show me kindness. Her iciness came from her time with Lucius but she is still my friend to this day. She came to me when Draco was slated to kill the Dumbledore and tried to get me to make an unbreakable vow to help him. Did you know that?"

Minerva shook her head no. She knew something had occurred that had blown Severus' cover but she had no idea what it was.

"She sat in my living room and begged me to help my godson and I turned her down. I told her it was the Dark Lord's will and I could not interfere. In the end I saved Dumbledore and destroyed my friend. I had assumed that Draco was dead at my doing but now I have hope. I can save my godson after all. Help me right this wrong"

Minerva pulled Severus into a hug, "you did what you needed to do and you did the right thing. We will find a way to free the boy."

Severus was never an affectionate man and he awkwardly returned the hug and ran off to his quarters. Minerva smiled at his retreating back happy to know the boy she once knew was still buried within the man he had become.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Ok so right now I am going to post this story and it will be expanded a little bit. It is still going to be rather quick as it came from a one shot . I am also writing a revised version which will be M. The two stories will both be caught up at chapter 3 today. I know this story is rather short and quick but the fun was playing with Narcissa in a dude suit which is why it was a one shot. There is no way I can expand both stories any more than I am due time constraints is my life. As those of you who read my previous stories know, I am not a fan of leaving a story open...I am always afraid I won't get it done. Both stories will wrap up around Halloween (I wasn't kidding about the quick part) and they will basically beg for a sequel as written that will focus more on the relationship. I may then come back and write a sequel dealing with this a/u and developing everything a bit more or rewrite the story making it longer and more in depth. I will own up to the fact that both plots will jump quickly and the relationship develops on a lesbian time table.

What do lesbians do on a second date? Pick out matching china. (If you have earned your toaster you should know that joke.)

The alternate version will go up with chapters 1 and 2 being relatively the same and then will change a bit but they will conclude the same which means any sequel will be most likely an M rating as I won't write two of those.

This is going to slow down my posting a bit as I work through the stories but I am not actually going to expand the time much, it was originally a one shot. I think if I can work fast enough I can post the end by Halloween.

Shout outs to Asher, ScOut, Vishan, B. and Miztickow and anyone who faved and followed.

Disguised Intentions

Chapter 3

Hermione Jean Granger had never been one to look in the mirror. She rarely wore make up and chose comfort over style in her clothes and her hair was unmanageable on the best of days. Having Viktor back changed things. He had been polite but distant and it seemed he wanted to keep their relationship professional. She had every intention of changing his mind. She had used liberally amounts of Sleekeazy's hair potion and put on one of her nicest dresses. She looked in the mirror as she added a little lipstick. She looked good. She had every intention of turning the new flying professor's head at the staff meeting today. She thought about their prior relationship. She had only been 15 at the time and he was her first boyfriend and her first kiss. The only other boy she had been on a date with was Cormac McLaggen who turned into a creep at the Slug Club party the year before. Their kiss had turned into a groping opportunity for him and she spent the rest of the party avoiding him. Now that she had accepted that she and Ron were only to be friends, she was going to do something to change her single status.

She walked in to the staff lounge and conversation stopped as she walked to her seat. She had to admit she loved the attention. She saw an open seat next to Viktor and flashed him a warm smile as she sat down next to him. He blushed a little and she hoped her new look was having its intended effect. The meeting was productive as class schedules were handed out and patrol duties were divided. She had always assumed that professors were just issued their patrols by the Headmaster but it was actually done through barter and negotiation by the professors. They tried to work out the most convenient patrols for everyone. Two professors were assigned to patrol each shift and the professors frequently did their patrols in pairs despite the fact that they were supposed to be patrolling separately. It was done to alleviate boredom not out of necessity. Each patrol would loop the grounds making each shift around an hour and a half and there were several patrols from the end of dinner through to around two a.m. with the patrols overlapping a little to keep continuity. It kept the patrols from being too burdensome for the professors and gave the impression to the students that all of their professors were always on the prowl. Hermione was amazed at the genius of it. Late patrols would be covered by professors who didn't have a first period the next day. Professors would also choose their patrols depending on how well they got along with their colleagues. What fascinated Hermione was that the divisions were not what she expected. Minerva and Severus, whose houses were the biggest rivals, were paired the most of anyone with four shifts per week together. He also had patrols with Filius Flitwich and Bathilda Bagshot which surprised her and Septima Vector who she assumed would get along well with Snape. Hermione and Severus had two patrols together, she had three with Viktor and two with Minerva and one with Pamona Sprout. There was also a rotating patrol that she would alternate time and partners on.

The professors also spent time reviewing lesson plans so related subjects would be taught at the same time. Professor Slughorn would be reviewing Wolfsbane potion with his N.E.W.T. students the same time that Professor Snape would be teaching about werewolves in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professors Babbling and Vector would be teaching Huntington's Prophetic Hieroglyphic theorem at the same time considering it involved both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Hermione had never thought about it but it made sense to coordinate lesson plans. There was so much that occurred behind the scenes at Hogwart's that the students were clueless to. The warding had amazed Hermione. The week before the students arrived each professor would add a different set of wards and protections to the school. Only the Deputy Head and Headmaster would know the full extent of the guards in place and have full access to all of the wards which provided a greater level of protection for the students and staff. The use of each professor's unique skill set in building the defenses for the school is what made the school a bastion of safety. If Dumbledore had not been trying to protect Severus' cover, Draco's plan would have never succeeded. The vanishing cabinet was detected by one of the wards once it started to be activated at the beginning of the year. Hermione would be helping Minerva and Filius with the spelled suits of armor and statues. All of times she had walked by the various empty armor displays and statues that adorned the school it never occurred to her she was looking at an army. The reason why it seemed like the Headmaster had eyes and ears all over Hogwarts was because he did. Between the portraits, the ghosts, the statues and the suits of armor almost every inch of Hogwarts was covered. Each year the spells that made the inanimate soldiers Hogwart's personal guard fell to Transfiguration and Charms. Minerva and Hermione would be doing most of the work as Filius was required to do some of the other ward work including the wards on the gates and bridges leading into the school. Viktor had volunteered to help them since the Flying instructor didn't really have any assignments. All he had to do was hold two classes a day teaching the first years to fly and manage the quidditch matches. Hermione knew he was proficient at charms and spells and welcomed the assistance. It also gave her a chance to catch up with him.

After the staff meeting was adjourned several bottles of spirits made their way out of cubbies and the staff spent the rest of the evening swapping stories and commenting on students. At first they were a bit stiff with Hermione in the room but she soon realized they were concerned about her sharing their conversations with the students and took an oath not to spill the beans on their griping. It again surprised her how collegial the relationship between the staff was. Severus and Flitwick were retelling the story of the George and Fred's rebellion against Delores Umbridge to Horace Slughorn and everyone was getting a good laugh out of their escapade. It turned out the Weasley twins were favorites of all of the professors. Neville Longbottom ended up the star of several stories involving melted cauldrons and ghastly transfiguration mistakes but Pomona Sprout stuck up for her favorite and said he was the herbology student she had taught in years. Hermione wondered what conversations they had about her in previous years. Severus seemed to read her mind when he answered her thought.

"We always talked about what an insufferable know it all you were"

There were several groans at Severus' jibe. There was quite a bit of chatter about how improved the House of Gryffindor's grades were since Hermione had been sorted. It turned out there was a betting pool going on who would have the most drastic drop in grades now that Hermione wasn't in Gryffindor to help them with their homework. Unsurprisingly Seamus and Neville lead the list with Ron in a close third on the worst grade drop. It turned out that Hermione was not precluded from betting and she put ten Galleons on Harry who she actually helped the most. The bet was based on a cumulative drop and although Harry did well in most questions he was marginal in charms and dreadful in potions. Not to mention she did all his homework when he was in his many visits to the infirmary or off chasing villains. It turned out the only other person who had bet Harry was Severus who was expecting the drop as well. He was going to tank in potions without Severus' book and Hermione's help and they both knew it. Hermione was happy she would only be a Teacher's Assistant for Slughorn and planned to keep protective shields up at all times in class.

Her conversation with her friends when she told them about her new position had gone well until she told them they were on their own with studying. They were not pleased but did finally understand that she couldn't be biased. Ron did point out that Snape was biased all of the time but finally conceded. Harry looked a bit sullen after the conversation. The-boy-who-lived was going to have to become the-boy-who-studied. Those galleons she bet were money in the bank.

Both she and Viktor had drunk quite a bit and they were a bit tipsy while walking back to their respective rooms. There were alone and the hall and as she opened her door to go in she was feeling brazen. She decided to seize the opportunity and stole a kiss. He froze for a second and then finally responded. The kiss was soft, softer than he had ever kissed her before and she pulled him closer gasping as they broke the kiss. She rested her head on his chest and they just stood in the hall holding each other. Both were a bit stunned at her taking the lead and from the sparks from the kiss. After a few minutes they could hear voices as other professors were heading back from the meeting. Viktor kissed her forehead and bowed goodnight.

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Narcissa was confused and angry. The filthy little mudblood had kissed her. To make things worse she had enjoyed it immensely. She had been unfaithful to her husband and with muggleborn to boot. She had felt her body, Viktor's body, respond to the kiss and had to will her heart to slow back down. Narcissa had heard the term fireworks before but this was the first time she understood what it meant. Was she attracted to the mudblood? She had found the young woman to be an acceptable conversationalist so far despite her unfortunate parentage but that was a far cry from kissing a dirty mudblood. She took another swig of her potion and grabbed her cloak. The professors were allowed to leave the grounds as they saw fit until the night before school began. After then they would need to log their comings and goings because the wards would not allow reentry without approval from one of the heads. Once she reached the apparition point she apparated back home arriving at her front gates. The wards had been reset so that no one could apparate directly into the home except for the Dark Lord. She couldn't get through the wards and then remembered she was Viktor Krum. She sent a patronus out to her sister who met her at the gates.

"What are you doing here Cissy? Our Lord will be displeased if he sees you."

"I wanted to see Draco…Lucius"

"They are safe. I swear to you I have kept them safe but if you go in there they won't be. What is going on?"

"I….oh Bella….I kissed her"

Bella smirked, "the mudblood? You came all the way here because you kissed the mudblood. Cissy of course you kissed her. Did you really think you would be able to keep it platonic? The boy was chosen for his relationship with her."

"I cheated on my husband…with a mudblood. What am I doing Bella?"

"Cissy, that fool hasn't been faithful to you since you became pregnant with Draco. You were chosen because you will be able to engage the girl without becoming emotionally attached to her. Despite your protests to the contrary you are supposed to woo the little chit to get her secrets and get close to Potter. You knew this from the start. You didn't like it did you?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Cissy, you were always a horrible liar. Just remember that Draco's life is on the line. Get your act together. Keep your emotions in check, win the girl, get the information and save your son! Do what you need to do Cissy."

Narcissa hugged her sister goodbye and apparated back to Hogwarts. As she walked back to the castle she thought about her dilemma. She needed to gain Hermione's trust without letting her guards down. She couldn't deny she felt something with that kiss. There was never any sparks with Lucius. The man was a business partner in a sense. They hadn't lain together in years and she was happy with that arrangement turning a blind eye to his numerous dalliances. Hermione was a different story. She had enjoyed being around her and the kiss was…well what a kiss. What in Merlin's name was wrong with her? She needed to focus on her job and keep their contact to the minimum necessary to achieve her goals.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

They spent the next week working with Minerva on the defenses. Narcissa found she enjoyed Hermione's company and conversations were easy and light. Minerva seemed to dislike Viktor a bit and was very reserved when she was around but Hermione seemed to open up the matron a bit. Hermione's knowledge and skill surprised her. She had heard the mudblood was a know it all but the impression Draco gave her was that it was the professors' favoritism and the girl's relationship with Potter that earned her top marks. After spending time with her, Narcissa couldn't deny the witch was brilliant. The staff definitely favored her and let her get away with a great deal but she had clearly earned it. The stories the professors told about her were astounding. They were sitting at dinner one night and Filius and Aurora were commiserating with her on inability to reach animagus form when Severus started making jokes at her turning into a Chewawa, some sort of muggle dog. After that the conversation had turned to her accidentally turning herself into part cat with a polyjuice mishap. At first Narcissa got a bit of smug satisfaction out of the fact that Hermione wasn't perfect at everything she did until she found out that she had brewed the potion during her second year and the potion was successful. Polyjuice wasn't covered until seventh year and was one of the most difficult potions to brew. After a bit of ribbing Hermione relayed the full story of how she ended up part feline while they were investigating the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. Even Narcissa had to find the drugging of Goyle and Crabbe amusing and although she didn't like the girl's tactics, Hermione had cleared her son's name. The fact that the girl had sorted out how the basilisk was traveling the school showed how clever she was but going after the snake even with the use of the mirror was foolish. Brave but completely foolish. The more she learned about Hermione Granger the more she was impressed. There was no question she was the key to Harry's success.

As much as the mudblood impressed her, she was here to save her son. That evening she wrote a letter relaying what she had learned to the Dark Lord. Hermione had been underestimated by everyone on their side, in part due to Severus Snape dismissing her as merely a walking encyclopedia. Now she realized he had been protecting her. The two boys, the dunderheaded duo as Severus had named them, would have been dead years before if not for her. Hermione was a variable that their side needed to account for. She had a new owl she had purchased for this mission. She had gone to Eyelops Owl Emporium as Viktor so no one would make the connection and to practice her new persona. Fitz was a tough little tawny owl that so far seemed to get the job done. She had become attached to the familiar instantly and spent the evenings doting on him. He was the only company in the school she didn't have to put her guard up for. She sent the owl back to the manor with the report to the the Dark Lord and a letter to Draco. She didn't care how Lucius was doing. He was the cause of this mess and the fool spent the whole time cowering instead of helping her prepare this summer. She would do her job, save her son and then they were leaving. Lucius could continue to scrape and beg to his master but Narcissa was done with this life.

Fitz returned back to Hogwarts the next morning carrying two letters. The Dark Lord sent his orders. She was to get close to the girl and get information as previously ordered but once she had finished that part of the mission her new target would be the girl. Narcissa was both upset and relieved. The mudblood would be easier to kill than Albus Dumbledore who was her original target. There was hope she would get out of this alive after all but she was become attached to her and killing her would be hard.

The other letter was from Draco sending his regards and giving her as much advice as he could. He had finally realized the extent of her deception and he let her know how grateful he was and to let her know he loved her no matter what she had to do. She could tell from his tenor how much he hated that his mother had to save him and potentially whore herself to do it but after a few months as the Dark Lord's guest he found that pain preempted pride. Narcissa was happy her son had become a man but wished it had happened under better circumstances. He told her that Bella was looking after him but she noticed that he never mentioned his father. Lucius was once again hiding from his responsibilities. At least her sister had stayed true to her. The letter from Draco reinforced her will. She would succeed.

She fed Fitz a few treats and set off to breakfast more determined to succeed. She needed to get the witch's secrets and then end her life. She had to put her aside any feelings and get the Dark Lord what he wanted. She had never killed anyone before and she had hoped to avoid it now but she would murder the whole staff if it got Draco back to her in one piece.

She sat down next to Hermione who greeted her warmly. They had spent the week together working on the wards and they had exchanged another kiss but otherwise they had been very reserved. She only had another week until the students returned and she needed Hermione's trust. Bella had filled her in on the whole story about the botched Ministry raid. The Golden Trio had help and there was an underground organization called Dumbledore's Army that was the crux of the rebellion. She needed to be one of those people that were "in the loop" and she needed to join the D.A. She knew the quickest way to be included was through Hermione.

"Hermione" she whispered.

"Yes Viktor"

"We don't have much time before the wards are strengthened and the students return. Before they do…well what I am trying to say…would you go out with me?"

"Yes" She smiled and kissed his cheek. Narcissa placed her hand to the warm spot where Hermione had just kissed her and realized she had just made a date with the mudblood. She had no idea what to do on a date. She had an arranged marriage and any time they did go anywhere, Lucius made the plans. She needed to sort out what to do on date and she needed to do it quick. She couldn't believe she was doing it but she wrote a quick note to Draco and sent Fitz on his way to deliver it. She was forced to resort to asking Draco how to date….how low she had fallen. Fitz returned a few hours later and Narcissa read his ideas. She still had a few hours left and she sent Fitz out to run a few errands. She would definitely have to get some extra treats for her new familiar.

That night she found herself pacing the hall in front of the entrance waiting for her date. She was terrified. She needed this date to be a success to save her son and she had no idea what she was doing. The only thing she knew was she couldn't fail.

Her breath caught as Hermione walked into the hall and Narcissa knew she had a problem. The woman was beautiful and she was becoming smitten. She had never thought much about love or attraction. She was promised to Lucius at 15 and never had the option of dating anyone else. She had never allowed herself any emotion and the pull at her heart and flutter in her stomach was completely new feelings.

"You look amazing Hermione"

Hermione blushed and thanked her. Narcissa felt her heart rate speed up a little more at her smile. She wanted to see that smile every day. She took a deep breath and took Hermione's arm escorting her to the apparition point. She performed a side-along apparition taking Hermione to a quiet and extremely exclusive little wizarding restaurant in soho. The waiter showed them to their table and Narcissa ordered some wine. After a few awkward moments Hermione finally filled the silence.

"I don't know why I am so nervous. It's not like we haven't spent time together. "

"You're right, I think it is just the formal setting that is causing the jitters….give me a second." Narcissa got up and found the maitre d. She was now winging it but she had a feeling it was the right thing to do. She whispered her request to the maitre d and handed him a significant amount of galleons. He came back a few minutes later and nodded to her. She headed back over to Hermione who was playing nervously with her fork.

"Come on...follow me"

"Where are we going?"

Narcissa put out her hand, "just follow me."

She grabbed the wine with her free hand and they followed the maître d up a set of stairs to the roof. There was a table cloth set in the middle. Narcissa transfigured a rock into a large cushion and sat Hermione down next to her. The waiter brought them an array of tapas dishes. The mood relaxed with the informal setting and the two spent the evening trying different foods and talking about their upcoming classes.

"Hermione, I don't want the school year to separate us…..I still want to see you."

"As long as you can deal with my friends, I can't see any reason why it would. We will be fine."

"I will do whatever it takes." Narcissa told herself she was playing a role as she said the words but she worried that she was starting to become attached to the young witch.

They headed back to the castle after dinner and the two took a stroll around the lake. Hermione seemed a bit cold and Narcissa gave her cloak to her and wrapped an arm around her to keep her warm. Eventually the stopped to watch the Giant Squid who was splashing about in the middle of the lake. They spent the next hour exchanging kisses but not going much further for two reasons. The first was Hermione was clearly not very experienced and Narcissa didn't want to push her luck. Draco had told her that the McClaggen boy had been shot down for being too aggressive. Narcissa was more than happy not to go further. She was already starting to develop feelings and she didn't want to find out what would happen if she became more intimate with her. Not to mention she felt clumsy and awkward in Viktor's body and had no idea what would happen. She was already having an issue with her body responding to Hermione at inopportune moments. She had been brewing a potion that helped with that particular issue and was very popular with adolescent boys trying to avoid embarrassment. Draco sent her a batch of the potion with a note wishing her luck. It officially went down as one of the most awkward moments she had ever had as a parent but she was thankful for the potion.

The second reason showed up anytime to two got too close.

"Ms. Granger, I am sorry to bother you so late but Filius and I have some lesson plans we need you to review by tomorrow. They need to be submitted to the Board of Governors."

Narcissa had no idea how Minerva McGonigall had found them but the matronly Gryffindor head was everywhere they turned. She had surmised the McGonigall did not approve of the match and was just running interference. She had tried to impress the professor but it felt like the witch could see through her. Naricssa sometimes felt like a first year with her former professor. Narcissa was an extremely skilled occlumens but she wasn't strong enough as a legillimens to peak without it being very obvious. As far as she knew, only Dumbledore and the Dark Lord could snoop wordlessly, wandlessly and relatively undetected. She suspected Severus might be able to as well. He was rumored to be extremely skilled having been tutored by both men. She wanted to know what McGonigall's issue was but she was afraid to push the issue and alienate Hermione's mentor.

She escorted both witches back to the castle and bowed politely to each of them wishing them a good night. She could see the desire in Hermione's eyes as she said goodbye and she realized the witch was falling for her. Her plan was working perfectly. To bad she was losing control.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N I am updating this chapter on both stories. I think I may get this done in the next week or two. It is obviously no longer a one shot but I am really only going to limit the story to a couple more chapters. It is hard writing and editing mirror chapters merely changing the smut content. Once I am finished I will decide whether to go right into the sequel, start a new story or work on a sequel to Safe Keeping or Dark Effects.

Disguised Intentions

Chapter 4.

The arrival of the students was an interesting experience for Narcissa. Many of the girls openly squealed when they entered the Great Hall and saw her. Hermione smirked and whispered to her.

"Your fans missed you. I wonder if they will follow you around in packs this time."

"It doesn't matter, I will be following you."

Narcissa had only been in this hall as a student. Sitting at the teacher's table now that the students were back was daunting. She could see the students elbowing each other and pointing to Hermione. The Gryffindors looked like Christmas had come early and the Slytherins looked furious. After spending time with Hermione she knew that the Gryffindors wouldn't be getting an early holiday and the Slytherins would be treated fairly. It wouldn't matter to the Slytherins who would hate her for being a mudblood, but once the Gryffendors realized they wouldn't be currying any special favor Hermione would get backlash. Naricssa wondered if the she realized that her life might become harder with this job.

As if reading her mind Hermione chimed in, "They are going to be quite disappointed when they discover that I am not going to be helping them out."

"You are not worried about losing your friends?"

"When I started here I was disliked by every student in the school, including Harry and Ron. There have been times since then where most if not all the school hated us. Don't you remember all of the hate mail I received fourth year? The Slytherins have been after me from day one and most of these people aren't my friends. My true friends will understand. Harry and Ron already know and despite a bit of grumbling, they have my back. Neville, Ginny and Luna will all still be my friends. The rest…..well we will find out won't we. You know it will be worse than last time don't you? Without Draco's support you will be marked too."

Narcissa choked on drink, "what?"

"Come on Viktor, surely you realized that the only thing that stopped the Slytherins from coming after you for dating a mudblood was Draco. Fortunately for you, his being a fanboy saved you the worst of it. You and Snape will have the same issue this year, your darling fans are going to now spend as much time trying to hex you as they do us."

A droll voice came from her right, "Oh they may try and go after Mr. Krum or you Ms. Granger but I assure you there isn't a snake in the house foolish enough to take me on." To make his point, Severus pulled a face somewhere between a sneer and a snarl directed at his house. The reaction was immediate. All of the students immediately found something extraordinarily interesting to stare at on the table and several students turned ashen. Hermione had to control her laughter, Goyle looked like he just swallowed his tongue.

"So Ms. Granger, did you review the book I gave you to…..aid in teaching?"

She pulled out a ragged dog eared copy of The Prince. "I added quite a few notes of my own Professor. It is better to be feared than loved….." She nodded at the table of now silent Slytherins "….I think it suits you."

"They will try to attack you, not head on. A sneak attack. If you can anticipate the attack make your response…..count. Mr. Krum I would suggest you read the book and follow Hermione's lead. You were sheltered from the hostilities of students last time you were here…..this time may not be smooth sailing."

Narcissa almost felt like Severus was responding to her, not to Viktor. She tried to get a read off of his body language but the stoic man gave nothing away. She remembered when he was a student. She was a prefect his first year and she often let him spend time with her to protect him from the other students. He was bullied mercilessly by the students, including the Slytherins. The worst offenders were Potter, her cousin, the werewolf and that little worm Pettigrew. They tormented him constantly. After her engagement to Lucius , Narcissa let almost everyone and everything slip away. Her grades slipped, she quit quidditch at Lucius' request and she let many of her friends and hobbies go. She never gave up on him. She put her foot down with Lucius and they protected Severus the best they could while they were still students. Throughout her life she had always stood by Severus including making him the godfather of her only son but when she went to him for help with Draco he turned her down. It turned he was a spy for the Order. She knew it wasn't part of her mission but if she got the chance to kill the man who betrayed her family she would. He was responsible for Lucius and Bella's failure at the Ministry which made him responsible for Draco having to take the mark. He was why she was here. He would pay.

"Is there an issue Mr. Krum? You seem a bit perturbed."

Narcissa had forgotten herself. She quickly pulled herself together, "No, I am just nervous about teaching"

"You should definitely read the book then."

Narcissa saw Hermione wave and looked over to see Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley enter. The last time she had seen the two boys her wand was pointed at them in the middle of Madam Malkin's. She had called the two boys and Hermione scum. Things had not gone well during the confrontation between them and frankly she still didn't like the boy. She wondered what he would do if he knew who was actually snogging his best friend. They waived to her and she nodded in return. She would have to be nice to make this work.

The sorting ceremony went quickly. More and more students were attending other schools or homeschooling to avoid the war. The raid last year had soured more than a few parents on Hogwarts. After the meal all professors had duties to patrol and sort the students out on their first night. She was to patrolling the areas near Gryffindor tower along with Hermione and McGonigall who would be addressing her house and laying down the house rules. They were to be aided by the prefects for the houses. Ginny Weasley was assigned to Viktor and Romilda Vane was assigned to Hermione who looked thoroughly annoyed. Narcissa could feel open hostility coming from the Weasley girl as well. She wondered what the story between them was.

The Weasley child was fortuitously quiet as they patrolled. She had no idea what to say to the daughter of Molly Prewitt and Arthur Weasley. Technically they were related but she could care less. The family was beneath her and lived in a hovel. After awhile it seemed as though the girl was working up the courage to say something to her. Narcissa finally got tired of waiting.

"Out with it already, there is something you want to say?"

"Are you dating Hermione?"

"That's not any of your business."

"She's my friend, it is my business. I will be the one to pick up the pieces if you break her heart"

"If you were her friend you would know the answer to the question"

She paused for a second, "I will know the answer by breakfast tomorrow. So you know, if you do break her heart I will hex your dangly bits off!" With that the girl stormed off. The girl clearly took after Molly who was formidable in her own right. Narcissa made sure to watch her back. Molly was proficient in the Dark Arts and Ginny might be as well. After she finished her patrol she met back up with Hermione and escorted her back to their wing.

"So…..how did things go with Ms. Vane"

"She lives up to her last name. She is obsessed with Harry and snotty and shallow girl. She personifies everything wrong with Gryffindor, a bloody caricature of the house."

"No, tell me how you really feel."

Hermione shoved him playfully and kept walking, "so how did things go with Ginny"

"They were…illuminating"

"She threatened you?"

"How did you know?"

"I know Ginny. She was the youngest member of the Slug Club last year based on how skilled she was at hexes. The only person in the family not afraid of her wand is Molly. "

"She is quite protective of you."

"That's what friends do for each other"

Narcissa sighed and thought about Severus. He certainly hadn't and none of the Death Eaters had stood up for them. The only one who had backed her was Bella and in the end Narcissa knew she would choose the Dark Lord. She had already made that choice with Andy. She had killed their cousin in the battle at the Ministry and had tried to kill their niece as well. Even Lucius would betray her and Draco if it suited them. They were on their own. She would love to have friends that loyal. She kissed Hermione goodnight and retreated to her quarters for a soak, a sulk and some Firewhiskey.

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The next few weeks were hectic for Narcissa. She had to deal with quidditch try outs, teaching and all of the headaches that come with a new school year. Hermione was pulled between professors rotating in and out of classes and trying to finish preparing for her N.E.W.T.s. The second week of school there was a horrible potions accident involving Potter that almost took the boys life. Madam Pomfry was able to save him but he ended up wandering the school dyed purple for a fee days. Fortunately Hermione had a protective shield up and was saved from the worst of it. Narcissa had no idea how the girl had known to have a shield up but her and Severus looked absolutely gleeful after the accident. Unfortunately Hermione was the one who had to repair the classroom. To add to her workload, some of the professors were taking advantage of their new assistant and had passed their grading on to her. Narcissa barely saw her and when she did it was often spent watching her grade or in some cases helping her grade. Narcissa had to admit that reading Crabbe, Goyle and Longbottom's charms essays was enough to make her question pureblooded superiority. Of course the Creavy brothers' essays were also somewhere between a Dreadful and a Troll as well. Stupidity was clearly a universal problem in the student body. She couldn't believe Filius Flitwick had saddled Hermione with grading all of his classes' parchments including the N.E.W.T. students. He told her it built character. The truth was he was down at the Three Broomsticks tying one on with several of the other professors that had unloaded their work on Hermione. She was stressed, overworked and never free to spend time with Narcissa or the two boys. Narcissa was getting nowhere in her mission or with Hermione and was now spending most of her free time helping Hermione cover the ridiculous work load.

Naricssa had finally had enough and went to several of the professors to sort it out. They all said the same thing. The orders came directly from Minerva.

"This is insane. She is only sleeping two to three hours a night, she never eats and she doesn't have time to study. How can you approve of this?" Narcissa was pacing the Headmaster's office. She had gone to him since she knew Hermione would not.

"Now Mr. Krum, I understand you have a personal stake in this but Hermione is my intern and she needs to be properly trained. I am sorry if I am putting a damper on your budding romance but this institution exists for education not your hormones!"

"This isn't about my hormones. Hermione is working herself to death. You know you are her mentor and how much she looks up to you. She will burn herself out before she disappoints you."

"Minerva…..we have discussed that it is essential that our faculty, including Ms. Granger, be able to have a social life. It is beneficial to everyone's wellbeing. I know you don't approve but I have to disagree. Mr. Krum is right, I am telling the professors that they are to do their own grading again. Thank you Mr. Krum and I think it would be best if we didn't share this conversation with Hermione. Minerva please stay so we can talk."

Narcissa felt as though there was something unspoken in that conversation and she didn't like it. She had expected the Headmaster to help her but not like that and not that easily. The Slytherin in her was concerned but the suitor was just happy to get Hermione back on track and McGonigall off her back. There was no question the witch was trying to come between Hermione and her. The real question was why.

Later that afternoon Hermione went to find Viktor and tell him the good news about her modified schedule and lightened duties. Narcissa had just finished finalizing the quidditch team practice schedules with the Slytherin captain and was coming up from the dungeons. She met him in a hallway and pulled him into a nook to tell him the news. She had wrapped Narcissa in a hug when they heard a voice from behind them.

"How cute, the mudblood and the blood traitor."

Narcissa never got a chance to see where it came from, a flash blinded them both. She tried to block Hermione with her body and fired stunners blindly hoping to catch someone. She was hit with a cruciatus curse and fell to her knees. She could hear Hermione crying and screaming to her left as they fired hexes and curses at her. She then heard the thud of a shoe connecting with flesh and Hermione's groan followed by a slap. They were beating her. Narcissa sent out a broad slicing hex in that direction and heard a boy scream. She had gotten one of them. She felt hands grab her from behind and she head butted the offender. A searing pain shot through her chest as she was propelled backwards. She heard someone scream, "Snape is coming" and she let herself fade to blackness.

She fortunately woke up in the infirmary and immediately checked herself. The polyjuice potion had not faded. It couldn't have been more than a few hours. Her chest was bandaged and the pain was excruciating but even with the extended potion she only had maybe 20-30 minutes left before she changed back. She peered out beyond the curtain and saw Pomfrey, Snape and McGonigall fussing over Hermione's bed. She looked awful. Her face was bruised and swollen from the beating and Madam Pomfrey was working on counter curses for some of the nastier spells she had been hit with. She was twitching in pain and crying and Narcissa's heart broke a little.

She snuck out of the wing, grabbing her wand off the bedside table and stumbled to her quarters receiving looks of disbelief along the way. She realized she was still wearing the medical gown from the infirmary and must look like hell. When she reached her quarters she changed, took another dose and put a small vial in her pocket. She knew she would need a reason for leaving so she slipped next door to Hermione's quarters. Hermione had lightened the wards for Viktor to make it easier for them to visit each other and Narcissa entered her quarters without any issues. On the girls bed was a stuffed teddy bear she had from when her tonsils were removed as a child. She remembered wincing at butchery of muggle medicine when Hermione had told her the story of the dolls origins. Hermione kept it with her wherever she went and always had it when she was sick. She grabbed the teddy and headed back to the infirmary. Dumbledore was there when she arrived.

"Mr. Krum, we were concerned with your sudden disappearance."

"Hermione will need this." Viktor walked up to the bed and put the teddy under her arm.

Madam Pomfrey checked his chest, "you need to lie back down Viktor"

He ignored her plea, "how is she….how is Hermione? We were attacked. The Slytherins?"

McGonigall answered, "Poppy has healed her wounds but she is still suffering the after effects of the attack. She is lucky to be alive. Did you see your attackers?"

"No I was hit with a blinding spell or powder when the attack started. I got at least one of them though. A slicing hex."

"Slytherins tend to their own wounds, I will make rounds of the house tonight and see if I can find anything out but I imagine they have already covered it up."

Poppy grabbed his arm to steer him towards a cot, "it's time you lay down Viktor."

He pulled his wand and moved the cot next to Hermione's. He took her hand as he lay down next to her. "I am not leaving her. I can't."

Narcissa was pushing Hermione's hair off her face and was too engrossed tending to her injured girlfriend to note the look of shock that passed through the three professors. Once the professors left she took a sleeping draught that was offered by Poppy and let herself fall asleep. She made sure to take a second dose of polyjuice before drifting off. The next morning Hermione awoke to find herself entangled with Viktor. She had rolled onto his cot during the night and she was curled up at his side. She stroked his face and he tightened his grip around her.

The next morning Hermione awoke to find herself entangled with Viktor. She had rolled onto his cot during the night and she was curled up at his side. She stroked his face and he tightened his grip around her.

"Good morning Ms. Granger….Mr. Krum." Narcissa opened her eyes and realized the warmth pressed against her side was Hermione dressed only in her dressing gown. She pulled the covers over them and looked over at Albus Dumbledore who had just woken them. Minerva McGonigall was standing next to him shooting daggers at Narcissa.

McGonigall ignored her and addressed Hermione, "Do you remember anything about the attack dear?"

"They blinded me, I couldn't see anything. There was pain…so much pain. Viktor saved me. Someone was beating me and then I heard Viktor and they were screaming." She turned and kissed him softly, "You saved my life"

Minerva cleared her throat. "I hate to interrupt but you have some eager visitors" She walked to the door and let Harry and Ron in who were a bit taken aback by the sleeping arrangements but ran to her side. The other professors left them and breakfast was brought up by Dobby. The four spent the next hour eating breakfast and discussing the attack.

"So we don't know who it is?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked around to make sure they were alone, "I know who it was." She saw the stunned faces of the other three and continued, "Severus was right….if I try and go through official channels I will be dealing with this constantly. They ran when he approached. It is better to be feared than loved. I saw them before I was blinded. It was Draco's goons. They were being led by Nott. I will get them back but not by telling like a schoolgirl. This is war, I need a better revenge."

Narcissa was stunned by Hermione's ferocity but Ron and Harry barely lifted an eyebrow at her statement.

"Hermione's fierce mate…you should know that since you are dating her and all"

After the boys left they returned to Hermione's quarters. They had spent the day doing something Narcissa had never been able to do with Lucius. They read. When Lucius was around he always made her put down her book and attend to him. He thought it was ridiculous to sit in the same room and read. Hermione was the complete opposite. Narcissa was reading Hogwarts: a History upon Hermione's suggestion and Hermione was reading a book on runes. The two sat curled up the couch just enjoying a quiet afternoon. Narcissa wished she could have a life like this. She thought of the Manor, her husband and her life and hated what she had become. Lucius had taken away all of her passions but he had given her Draco which is what gave her the motivation to keep on. Hermione had nuzzled into her neck and for a minute Narcissa let herself envision a life with this woman. What would her life be like with the shackles off? It didn't matter, Hermione was dating a man that didn't exist. She would kill Narcissa if she discovered the deception and Narcissa would be forced to kill her if she didn't. Narcissa didn't even notice the tear rolling down her face.

"Viktor, why are you crying?"

"I am not crying it is just something in my eye."

"Of course not, I know the book isn't sad so you want to tell me what has gotten you in such a mood?"

"I am worried about us, I am worried you will not want to be with me. That my feelings are not returned."

"Viktor…" Hermione sat up and straddled him placing her hands on each side of his face, "I know last time around I was rather….withdrawn, but this is different. Since you have been back I have been drawn to you in a way I have never felt. I am falling in love with you."

She leaned in and kissed him. Their lips crashed together and Narcissa fell into the abyss. She knew this was wrong and she knew she needed to protect herself but she didn't care. She was falling for the mudblood and there was nothing going to stop these feelings. The kisses were accompanied by wandering hands and Narcissa could feel herself reacting to Hermione's touch. Fortunately they were interrupted by a knock before things went too far.

Hermione went to let the visitor in while Narcissa caught her breath and got everything under control. Hermione returned a moment later followed by Harry, Ron, Ginny, the Longbottom boy and a blonde girl that Narcissa remembered from the wedding. They grabbed seats around the room and Hermione sat back down on the couch with Narcissa.

""Nice to see you up and about." Harry greeted.

"How did you know I would be here and free? I was only set free by Poppy a few hours ago"

"McGonigall told us. Said if we were reconstituting the D.A. she would be our faculty sponsor but you needed to agree to co-sponsor"

"She said we should go find you and gave us permission to come back here. She said we can't visit this wing without permission but today would be a great day to ask." Ron was working on a chocolate frog and mumbled out the last part.

Narcissa was pissed. McGonigall was definitely interfering in their relationship. She had no idea what the professor's problem was but she had enough. Hermione saw Narcissa's face and looked confused.

"I will tell you later. What is going on with the D.A.?". Narcissa had no idea if Viktor knew about the D.A. so she picked the most neutral statements possible.

"I never told you much about it did I?"

They spent the next hour telling Narcissa all of the details leading up to the Department of Mysteries battle. Narcissa was impressed. Hermione list with the hex, the coins, her tricking Umbridge and the six of them taking on the Death Eaters. She was impressed with these students. Hermione was turning eighteen at the end of the week. When she was eighteen she was already married and spent her time hosting dinner parties and being the perfect society wife. The students sitting in front of her were fighting a war. They were so much stronger than she was. She thought about their lives and Draco's. They all had to grow up so quickly. She couldn't see a thestral until she was twenty seven. They could all see them before they even graduated. What a life they were forced to lead. In the first war it was a war fought by adults. They were young but not that young. For some reason the Order had decided to let this one be fought by their children. She hated this war.

They filled Narcissa in on the D.A. which was being renamed the Dueling Club and it was decided Viktor would also act as a faculty sponsor. Narcissa knew that would drive McGonigall mad and give her more time with her girlfriend. The Dark Lord would be pleased at her strengthened position. After the others had left she told Hermione that she thought McGonigall was interfering with them dating and filled her in on the events. Hermione wanted to confront her mentor but Narcissa convinced her otherwise.

"Let me take care of her. I don't want to cause a rift between the two of you. She is probably just looking out for you. Trust me to take care of this."

"Ok" Hermione pushed her down on the couch and straddled her again. "I would hate to let her win. Where were we?" As Hermione recaptured her lips Narcissa stopped her.

"Hermione if we pick back up we are not going to stop and we aren't ready for that...yet." She kissed Hermione again and extricated herself. "I will see you tomorrow."

Hermione grabbed her as she walked away and yanked her back for a searing kiss, "you are right, I will see you tomorrow baby."

Narcissa returned to her quarters and took a long cold shower. Afterwards she spent an hour staring at the mirror thinking about her situation. She had developed feelings for the young woman and the thought of violating her trust was ripping her apart. She needed Hermione to achieve her mission and save her son but every day she needed Hermione a little more for her heart as well. She looked at the man staring back at her and punched the glass. The shards flew everywhere embedding in her hand but she didn't care. She was chosen because she was a married woman and wouldn't fall for the girl but she did. She knew she would have to find another way to do this. She would save her son, but she would find a way to do it without destroying Hermione.

She sent Fitz off with a letter to the Dark Lord apprising him of the situation. She knew he would be pleased with her progress despite the attack. She was officially embedded with the enemy now. She requested a visit with Draco hoping he would grant her some good will due to her progress. He wrote her back and was pleased but denied her the right to come to the Manor. He told her an invitation would be issued to Viktor for the Ministry Halloween Ball and she should bring Hermione as a date. Draco would attend escorted by guards and that would give her a chance to see him and spend time with him. They would not be left alone and if they tried to leave they would be killed before they made it to the door. It gave Narcissa a glimmer of hope. Now she just needed a plan.


	5. Chapter 5

I expect this to be about 7 chapters. I will probably be doing a sequel on one of the stories but haven't decided what yet. Mad shout out to Asher and scOut.

Disguised Intentions

Chapter 5

Narcissa spent the night planning ways to save her son. She was alone and isolated and the Dark Lord knew it. She was good with a wand but he would have Yaxley and the Carrows on guard at the bare minimum. She couldn't take all three of them. She was worried about Hermione as well. This could be a trap to kill them both. She had seen quite a few contraband Weasley twin products since she had been at Hogwarts. Maybe she could use some of their products for the break out.

The following morning the Weasley boy and Potter stopped her as she was on her way to breakfast.

"I do not know where Hermione is."

Molly's little mutt spoke up, "she is in the library, we were looking for you. Hermione's birthday is on Friday. She is turning 18 which is apparently a big deal for muggles. We want to have a party in Gryffindor for her."

She looked at the two boys who were staring at her expectantly, "you can't have a party in Gryffindor. She is a teaching assistant not a student. Maybe we can come up with something else. I will get back to you."

She walked off to grab her meal. She didn't have time to sort out Hermione's birthday but she knew the Gryffindors would make a mess of it. She couldn't afford any setbacks. She sat down next to the Headmaster and explained her situation to him. The Headmaster agreed that it would be a problem for her to attend a Gryffindor party as a professor.

"We will have a staff function and allow her friends to attend for the beginning. I am pleased to see you are getting along with Ms. Granger. She is a wonderful asset to this school and loved by many. I do hope everything goes smoothly with the two of you Mr. Krum"

Narcissa thanked him and walked away. There was no question that the kindly old Headmaster just made a veiled threat. She realized that if she did fulfill the Dark Lord's plans she would be hunted by the Order. She was actually worried about what would happen when her deception was revealed. Sometimes it felt like the man already knew.

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The party was going well. Potter had shown up with the Weasley boy and his little sister, Longbottom, Lovegood, some little chit name Lavender who seemed to hang all over the Weasley boy and Hagrid in tow. She had heard they were friends with the giant. Another 'person' she had to associate with that she disliked. The man had put her son face to face with a hippogriff. The nasty beast had almost torn Draco's arm off. To make it worse the thing had escaped and no one had been punished for it. Fortunately the liquor was flowing heavily in the staff lounge and Narcissa helped herself to a stiff drink to make the evening more manageable. Narcissa wanted to hide in a corner but had been unsuccessful as Hermione seemed intent to keep her near. She spent the evening talking quidditch with Harry and Ron to keep herself amused. She knew Draco hated them but they didn't seem half bad once she got to know them. Eventually she managed to sneak into a corner to hide a bit.

"I have already reserved this corner for antisocial sulking Mr. Krum."

Narcissa looked over to see Severus in a chair only a few feet from where she was sitting. The lighting didn't quite cover his corner and he was mostly obscured by darkness.

"My apologies Severus, I just needed a break"

"I may have extended the courtesy of using my first name to Hermione but that privilege was not extended to you Mr. Krum. Familiarity, like trust, is something that is earned Mr. Krum"

Narcissa fired back a retort before her brain could catch up to her mouth, "Really Professor Snape, and what would you say about someone who has earned that trust and then betrayed you?"

"Interesting question. Maybe that person had no choice. What if the person that you believe they 'betrayed' you for was the closest thing they had to a father, would it still be a betrayal"

Neither said a word or took a breath for over a minute as they realized they had both shown their hands. Finally Severus stood and whispered to her.

"Come with me Narcissa, we have plenty to talk about."

Narcissa was trying not to shake as they walked out of the quarters and headed to Snape's study. Once they entered he poured them each another drink and they sat near the fire to talk.

"How did you know?"

"There is a map created by the Marauders. The fools managed to create a document that would show every person on campus and where they are. It was how they sorted out that Pettigrew was the Weasley pet. They have been using it to create havoc throughout the school for years. This year Dumbledore borrowed it. He added a spell that gave it the ability to detect polyjuice potion due to Barty Jr.'s infiltration. You showed up as Narcissa Black Malfoy on the map. He ordered Minerva and I to stay silent."

"That's why she has been interfering so much. She knows who I am. What about Hermione?"

"Hermione has no clue…..Naricssa I am sorry I couldn't help you with the task assigned to Draco. If it was anyone but the man who took me in when I hit rock bottom, who became my only friend and is like a father to me I would have helped. I can't see you willingly taking this mission….the Dark Lord has Draco doesn't he?"

"Yes, he has threatened to kill Draco if I don't complete my mission."

"Which is?"

"Find out information on Dumbledore's Army, the Order and the Potter boy and when I am done to kill Hermione Granger."

Severus sighed and hung his head

"And now Severus? You chose before and left my son…left me to fend for ourselves. Between us and the girl, who do you choose?"

"I choose you, I have already chosen you. If not I would have told her of your manipulations despite the Headmaster's wishes. I will help you Narcissa and I will keep your secret but please consider that there may be a way to do this without harming Hermione. "

"There has to be Severus"

He raised his head in surprise. That was not the answer he was expecting.

"Severus…..I am falling in love with her."

Severus Snape was a solemn man but the thought of Lucius being left for a muggleborn who was a school mate of Draco's was enough to make him laugh.

"I am sorry Narcissa, I am not mocking your plight….that was just unexpected. She is going to be angry when she finds out. Hermione may not be the fiercest warrior in a duel but she is one of the most dangerous witches to come out of Hogwarts in a century."

"Will you help me?"

They each took an unbreakable vow to each other. Severus would help Draco and Narcissa and Narcissa wouldn't betray any secrets to the Dark Lord nor would she betray the Order. It was decided that Hermione needed to be told. Severus would be close by when Narcissa did so to help out if necessary. The party had broken up by the time they were finished and Narcissa found Hermione in her quarters. Severus waited outside.

Narcissa sat her down on the couch and told her everything. At first Hermione laughed assuming she was joking but once the news settled in she was broken hearted and furious.

"Why? Why me?"

"Because the Dark Lord asked it of me and Draco's life was on the line."

"So it was all a lie, I was falling in love with a lie!"

"No! I may not have disclosed who I was but I was always me when I was with you. You are falling in love with me…not Viktor, ME!"

" And Viktor?"

"I am sorry."

"Did you kill him? Did he suffer?"

"No I didn't kill him but he did not die well. He fought for you though, we learned very little from him."

"He was a good man Narcissa. And your feelings for me? More lies?"

"No that's why I am here. I can't carry out my mission any more. I will not harm you for him. I….I have fallen for you. So now what?"

"We will find a way to free Draco. Right now I am too angry to address "us" but since I will never be able to trust you there is really not going to be an us. You betrayed me and used me. Not to mention that underneath the surface of my boyfriend lies a middle aged housewife. You're married. You are lucky I don't take an ad out in the Prophet. You tell me on my birthday as icing on the cake." She slapped Narcissa hard and went right back into her rant, "So you will do what you are told and I will keep up appearances for the sake of protecting Draco. While we are out of our rooms we will spend time together. We are professors, not students sneaking off to snog in a corridor, there is no need for you to touch me...ever again. Sit by me at meals and in the staff room. Several times a week I will come by for tea to give the impression that we are spending time together. I will bring a book and I have no intention of talking so find something to do that doesn't involve talking to me. The Order will tell you what to say to Voldemort. Don't ever be confused, after what you have done I will happily "break up" with you if you cross me. Do you understand? "

Narcissa nodded.

A gentle voice came from the door, "I am glad to see we have resolved this situation"

They both looked to see the Headmaster standing there with Minerva McGonigall and Severus Snape.

"When I saw Narcissa leave with Severus I became concerned and we decided to investigate. I apologize for intruding but we wanted to confirm your wellbeing." Hermione was furious about the deception and was obviously ready to tear three apart when he stopped her. "I understand you are upset but you were neither a strong enough occlumens nor actress to successfully fool Naricssa. I didn't believe your relationship would develop so quickly or so intensely. It has barely been two months. In Minerva's defense dear, she was adamantly opposed and went to great lengths to try and keep Narcissa away."

Hermione realized all of the interference that McGonigall had been running had been to protect her. Minerva hugged her and Hermione's defenses broke a little. Hermione cried in her mentor's arms while Minerva whispered her apologies. She finally stopped long enough to address the three men staring at them.

"You knew and yet you let this charade continue. All of you were willing use me for your cause. We have nothing more to say to each other. We are done for the night. I would like to get some rest."

"Some rest would suit us all. I expect all of you in my office for a breakfast meeting tomorrow. We will discuss the situation and make some decisions. Ms. Granger, if you do not wish to attend that is acceptable we can talk later."

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The next morning was awkward and conversation was strained. Hermione had come to the meeting and was now glaring at 'Viktor', Severus and the Headmaster over the table. Severus was right, Hermione was a very scary woman when she was angry. Narcissa informed them of her mission, Hermione paling when informed that the goal was to kill her. She told them of everything that had happened and Draco's imprisonment finishing up with the upcoming Halloween party and her concerns that it was a trap.

Severus chided his long time friend. "He is drawing you out to see if you are truly achieving your mission and to see if he can get rid of both of you. He wanted Hermione to attend to see the two of you together. They are having the party in Ballroom Three this year."

She finally realized the game, "The observation deck."

"What's the observation deck? Ballroom three? I don't get it." Hermione was confused but the others seemed to understand.

Albus took this one, "Ballroom Three used to be used for negotiations with foreign ministries and the like. There is a magical observation deck that is undetectable by most spells and gives the viewers the ability to move to any spot in the room and see and hear what they are doing. It gave quite a few Ministers a solid edge in negotiations. Eventually word of the room spread and the room can no longer be used for such things but the deck is still there. Tom will be able to monitor you all night and probably will be trying to use legillimency while you are there. He will no longer need Narcissa or you if he can get enough information from you throughout the evening. He will kill both of you as well as Draco and Lucius if he can. The grand fall of the Malfoys has given other Death Eater and supportive families pause. You are actually less of a threat to him dead than alive and in your current state. As you have surmised, Hermione has done a great deal for the Order, Dumbledore's Army and Harry. Once Tom became aware of her value her death became more important than her information. We are not in a position to battle Voldemort outright but we can use this to our advantage and save Draco in the process. We will need to come up with a plan to break Draco out from his guard while we are there."

Hermione thought about it for a second and finally consented. She left shortly after. She needed time to think about everything that had happened.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Narcissa and Hermione kept up the illusion for the next two weeks. There were times where Hermione would forget herself and they would enjoy each other's company. Narcissa was still head over heels for the witch and dealing with Hermione's anger was difficult. She couldn't deny her feelings and no longer made any effort to hide them. She tried to talk to Hermione when they were alone but she was shut down every time. The toll on Hermione had been horrible and she had begun to withdraw into herself. She became hostile with almost everyone and the students were avoiding her. Even Harry and Ron were subject to her outbursts of anger.

Narcissa continued to write letters to the Dark Lord providing intel on the Order and Golden Trio. The information was actually far more detailed than she would have been able to provide otherwise. Dumbledore was doing the same thing he had done with Snape, providing pieces of information that seemed extremely valuable and making it appear as the failure for those leads to come to fruition was in the execution. Everything she wrote was reviewed by one of the Order members, usually Dumbledore or McGonigall. The Gryffindor head was still icy to her and Narcissa was finding it hard to deal with the situation. She knew her best chance in saving her son's life lie in the Order but it was hard to have faith in people who held so much disdain for you.

She decided to approach the old school marm and see if she could make amends. She went one evening after classes making sure no students were around.

"Professor, please. Just hear me out."

"After all you have done what could you possibly have to say."

"My son's life is on the line. I am sorry I deceived everyone especially Hermione but what kind of mother would I be if I didn't do anything necessary to save my son?"

"You destroyed Hermione in the process. She has stopped eating, she cries herself to sleep each night, her studying has slipped and she has become so angry even her friends are avoiding her. You did that."

"I know. I hate myself for it. I was chosen because I was the one person the Dark Lord thought he could send who wouldn't fall in love with her but in the end he was wrong all I am is the one person she couldn't love."

"What are you saying? Are you saying you are in love with her? Narcissa she is more than half your age. She is a woman. She is Draco's classmate! You can't have a relationship with her. The whole world will hate you for it. Do you think that would ever be accepted?"

"I don't care. I love her. I am willing to face down the world for her."

"Are you willing to choose her over your son?"

"No, but she would never want me to. That is part of the reason I love her so much."

Minerva sat down next to her, "You know she may not be receptive to you as a woman."

"I know but there is something between us, something that is beyond gender or age. I know we belong together no matter how crazy it seems."

"Alright Narcissa, I won't stand in your way but there is one thing you should know."

"What's that?"

"You hurt her again and I will kill you."

Narcissa knew that wasn't an empty threat. Minerva protected her Gryffindors and she did not like a snake running about her lion's den. Narcissa just hoped that she had really convinced Minerva.

Narcissa went to Severus' after her meeting and filled him in.

"McGonigall will back off but she is not going to help you. She has never approved of a Slytherin dating her Gryffindors. If you want to get Hermione back you need to fight for her but I will ask you the same question she did. Are you willing to deal with the backlash? You are more than twice Hermione's age. She is actually young enough to be your daughter. You are on opposite sides of the war and the wizarding world. You will be shunned by your friends and family and become a punch line in most circles. Are you willing to deal with Draco's anger? You will no longer be welcome in many of the establishments you go to. Are you willing to become a pariah? How are you going to handle spending time with many of your old enemies? How are you going to feel sitting in Molly's kitchen?"

"I will do anything to save my son's life, but he will have to accept what happens after. He is not the same spoiled and snotty little boy you remember Severus. Yes I know what Draco was like, I was partially responsible for it. Things have changed, I have changed. So has he. Severus, I didn't know that I could feel like this. I didn't know a kiss could be so powerful….I can't walk away even if it destroys me."

"That's what it was like with Lily."

Narcissa's head shot up at the name. Severus had never told her how he became a spy for the Order but now it all made sense.

"You and Lily Evans?"

"Yes. No one but Dumbledore and McGonigall knew. I was the exception to her no snakes rule. Everyone else thought we were just friends. When Lily chose James over me it destroyed me. Lucius easily recruited me after that and I was truly loyal to the Dark Lord. It was Lily's death that brought me to the light. That's when I woke up and realized what I had done….what I had become. I am a pariah Narcissa. My life will be yours soon. My only hope is that unlike me, you get the girl. If you want Hermione you need a Gryffindor approach. Go to her and make an idiot out of yourself."

She pulled him into a hug but he pulled back after a second.

"That's just creepy when you're still Viktor"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N So I made it six chapters and it leaves the story open for a potential sequel. I am going to work on a sequel to the Masked Ball I think. As I said before, this is not my favorite of the stories I have written so I may not come back to it for the sequel for awhile but I never know how my muse might strike. I know I could have done more to flesh it out but I wasn't feeling it right now and I refuse to leave a story unfinished. When I am feeling this more I may come back and expand it and draw the story and characters out.

(Quick note. Anonymous reviewer was right about the map, I don't know why I always interpreted that scene to mean that Barty had run out of polyjuice and that is why he showed up on the map as himself. I am officially calling a Kessel Run and saying I meant to do that…um changed universe : o Just roll with it kids.)

I want to thank all the reviewers, faves and follows. Special thanks to Vienne for the review.

Disquised Intentions.

Chapter 6

Narcissa let the polyjuice fade. She stood in front of the cracked mirror and watched as she shed the Bulgarian seeker. She hid herself in a cloak and walked next door to Hermione's quarters. It took several knocks before Hermione opened the door. Narcissa pushed in before Hermione could stop her. Hermione went to draw her wand at the shadowy invader but stopped when Narcissa dropped her cloak. The two stood toe to toe in the small hall by her front door.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Something foolishly Gryffindor, I am fighting for you."

"There is nothing to fight about. You betrayed me. You lied to me. You used me. You are not the person I love."

"Are you sure? You didn't fall in love with Viktor until I came into the picture. I want one thing and if you tell me you feel nothing I will leave you alone."

"What's that?"

Narcissa pushed Hermione against the wall and began to passionately kiss her. Hermione pushed against her to get her off. When she broke up the kiss Hermione slapped her hard enough to draw blood. They stared at each other panting for what felt like hours but was only seconds. Hermione raised her hand up to Narcissa's lip and wiped the blood away. She spun her around recapturing her lips. Narcissa felt like every nerve ending in her body was firing as she allowed the younger witch to take control. They deepened the kiss and Narcissa began to run her hands under Hermione's shirt.

"Merlin's beard. What the hell 'mione?"

The two broke the kiss and Narcissa found herself looking over at Ron, Harry, Neville, Ginny and Luna who were all slack jawed in surprise. She hadn't checked to see if Hermione was alone. Harry carried on where Ron left off.

"Hermione….why are you snogging Draco's mom?"

Narcissa let her head fall back to the wall, "damn"

Hermione kissed her and laughed, "Generally all of our foolish Gryffindor plans go awry and then you end up flying by the seat of your pants hoping it works out. This also usually accompanied by some degree of public embarrassment. Welcome to the house of the lion. I will come by after I am done here but I need to talk to them alone"

Narcissa looked up at the five shocked students, several of whom looked like they wanted blood.

"Are we good?"

Hermione took her hand and whispered, "I don't know where we are….but now there is a we. You are right, my feelings aren't for Viktor. Now we sort out the rest."

Narcissa took that as a victory and the two stole a few more kisses much to the dismay of Hermione's friends. Ron started making gagging noises and Narcissa left Hermione to explain everything to her friends.

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"So let me get this straight….wait wrong term….let me get this correct. You have been dating Viktor, but Viktor isn't Viktor so you really have been dating Narcissa who was sent to kill you. Despite that you like her and are going to now date her as Narcissa? And Narcissa who hates muggleborns and all things light has fallen for you but we need to save Draco, the Death Eater first."

"Well when you put it like that it does sound awful. Harry I know it's stupid and I know you hate Draco and Narcissa. I don't blame you. I didn't mean to fall in love with her but she is right…..I do love her. I know I shouldn't, I know it's too quick and she is my enemy and all the other really good arguments on why I shouldn't but I do. The last few weeks have killed me. I am not saying I am a lesbian but I don't think I can walk away from her."

Ron decided to have one of his deep moments, "You didn't fall for Viktor when he was Viktor, you fell for him when he was Narcissa. Hermione, I don't know how this will work out but you fall in love with the person, not the cover"

"Ron…..thank you. Thank you for mixing your metaphors and being you."

Ron decided to try and help a little more, "Plus we always thought you liked girls so it makes sense. You never really gushed over boys and there is that rumor about…"

Harry elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up but it was too late.

"Harold James Potter what rumor is he talking about."

"There was a rumor that you were seeing Millicent."

"What! Millicent Bullstrode? Are you kidding? She is a toad! I can do better than Millicent. I didn't even rank Pansy?"

The two boys looked at each other completely confused at her frustration while Hermione paced about the room listing hotter girls she could pull. Ginny finally interrupted her.

"So Ron's right? You are into chicks?"

"NO! Why would you say that?"

Neville couldn't resist, "It might be the pacing and going through the hot girls at school. If someone accused me of dating Crabbe I wouldn't be listing the blokes I could date instead. It's ok Hermione, you are our friend and we love you no matter what."

"Even if you are snogging Draco's mom." Ginny added

"Especially if you are snogging Draco's mom" Ron laughed.

"You guys are going to make my life hell over this aren't you?"

Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "Yeah pretty much, I really hate Narcissa but imagine how much fun we can have with Draco if you manage to pull it off and save them. You hooked up with his mom. We will be able to torment him for years."

"Help me guys, please. We haven't come up with a good way to free Draco yet but we are trying to work out a raid." She filled them in on the Halloween Ball and the different ideas that they had come up with to save Draco.

Luna who had been quiet through everything finally chimed in, "maybe your problem is that you are letting the Order do the planning and they think like the Order. Narcissa and Severus are thinking like the Dark Lord. We need to think like ourselves. You already have done this once we just need to do it again."

Five voices cried out in harmony…."what?"

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After her conversation with the D.A. Hermione went to Narcissa's quarters. The two talked until dawn learning about each other. It was touch and go for a few minutes when Narcissa learned about the events third year but Hermione let Narcissa see her memories and she understood why she hit Draco and saved Buckbeak. They had both done things to each other and each other's friends and family. The last time Narcissa had run into the trio as herself they were trading barbs and threats at Madam Malkins and it would take time to heal some of the wounds. They grew closer over the next few weeks and the more time that Hermione spent with Narcissa the more she realized she had made the right decision.

Narcissa lay against Hermione as the sun streamed into her room.

"I am glad there is an us Hermione. I am sorry about the deception"

"I am still peeved, you know that? We will sort this out love."

Narcissa snuggled closer content they had some resolution.

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Although Hermione and Narcissa were happy with their relationship, others were concerned. Minerva was worried about Narcissa hurting her and Harry and Ron were still unhappy it was Narcissa. Ginny and Luna just wanted details. The idea of using polyjuice potion during sex fascinated them. Hermione explained that they hadn't done anything while Narcissa was Viktor after the first time. Hermione had cared for the seeker even if she hadn't loved him and Narcissa had a great deal of guilt where the boy was concerned and neither wanted his memory in their bedroom. The conversation did have Hermione thinking about borrowing someone else's hairs to find out what it felt like to take Narcissa as a man.

The Headmaster's secrecy and actions had hurt Hermione as much as Narcissa's deception. She made peace with Narcissa but she still needed to deal with Dumbledore. She finally went to his office and confronted him one day after classes.

"Sir, you knew all along why didn't you tell me? What possible advantage did you have to gain by allowing her to continue with her charade?"

"There were certain tactical benefits"

"You knew she would seduce me, you knew my feelings were growing. Was it your intent I seduce her to the light?"

"No Hermione, it was never my intent to use you. Narcissa was a brilliant student, although she spoke with the same bias as her Slytherin classmates she never meant it. The words were only restatements of what she was taught. She was bright and full of life. She could have been successful in many fields but her family saw fit to saddle her to Lucius. He destroyed her and turned her into the icy and cruel woman that everyone has come to expect. You remind me of her, a nose in a book and living to overachieve. I thought you would make a good match and I knew that you would see the person behind the façade and make your decision. If it had been anyone else's name on that map I would have stopped them on the first day. If I didn't see her falling in love with you I would have never let it go so far. As I said….there were tactical benefits. Having one of our greatest minds happy and focused will help the cause and adding Narcissa and Draco to our fold will be a boon as well. When this is over I will offer Narcissa the flying instructor job and Draco will be able to finish out his education. She will happily join the Order and my staff and her insights will be invaluable. Plus I get the warm glowing feeling of a match well made"

She wasn't really sure if the old man was telling the truth but she let his words soothed her ire and they made a truce. In the end she found love even if it was born of deception.

The student body was clueless to the change. The D.A. had their regular practices and then the Order members would meet after to discuss the plan. Neville, Luna and to Molly's dismay, Ginny, had all been inducted into the Order. Ginny and Luna were not of age but it was just a case of practicality. Ginny's whole family and all of her closest friends were Order members and Luna had come up with the plan. They needed to bind them with a secret keeper's oath and at this point it was just silly not to induct them. All of them took secret keeper oaths in respect to the plan which prevented it from being revealed even through use of Veritiserum or legillimency. They had begun to focus getting everything together for Halloween and they had used Arthur's connections at the Ministry to get invites for his family. The ball was a tradition and many of the students were required to attend the ball every year. Hogwarts always arrange for carriages for the attendees and escorts to accompany them. This year Minerva McGonigall and Severus Snape were among the chaperones. Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt had made sure there was a large contingent of Aurors that were favorable to the Order present. They needed wands in case there was no way they could sneak Draco out. They would be able to have the Weasleys in the mix along with a few of the D.A. but they would still have a numbers problem. Dumbledore never went to the ball and therefore would not be able to make an appearance without arousing suspicions. Total they would have 15 people present including Aurors and Weasleys that wouldn't raise flags and they had no choic but to make do with the guest list for the ball otherwise they would tip their hand to the other side.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Hermione looked stunning. The Dark Lord was known for his taste in women….particularly young women and any distraction was going to be helpful. The Dark Lord would most likely only be doing surface scans which were imperceptible when he cast them. Hermione would have to stay focused on providing false images.

"Are we ready to go?" Narcissa walked in wearing dress robes and looked very handsome as Viktor Krum. Naricssa had stopped polyjuicing herself at night. They would spend the nights as Narcissa and Hermione and the days would be spent with "Viktor".

"As ready as I will ever be. I just hope that we can pull this off and Harry and the others can sneak in without being caught."

"All of the children of the attendees will be there, they should be able to blend in and avoid recognition."

They went to the front of the castle where carriages awaited all of the attendees. The Weasley's were confirmed and Bill, Fleur, George and Fred would be coming with Molly and Arthur. Narcissa escorted Hermione into a carriage and looked around. The other students started grabbing carriages and Viktor and Hermione ended up with Ron and Ginny, the Patil twins and Cormac McClaggen. Narcissa looked over and saw that the next cart held Hestia and Flora Carrow, Goyle and Crabbe who both look as vacant and dimwitted as ever, Blaise Zabini and Teddy Nott. Goyle saw her looking and sneered at her. It was going to be a long night.

When they arrived at the Ministry they were escorted to Ballroom Three and Hermione and Narcissa focused their thoughts on tempting bits for the Dark Lord. They had held several fake order meetings prior to the ball and she was now going back and forth thinking about the meetings, Harry, Ron and Hermione spending Christmas at the Burrow potentially and her relationship with Viktor. Viktor pulled Hermione closer as they walked around the ballroom. Narcissa's grip tightened when saw that Draco was sitting in one of the corners. As expected he was being watched by Yaxley, Amicus and Alecto Carrow, Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr. The students from Slytherin were now over in the corner as well more than doubling the numbers. It looked like Nott was taunting Draco a little. This was where the problem arose. There was no reason for Viktor to approach them. Additionally Hermione would want to avoid a corner which contained all of her enemies. Naricssa walked them around the room socializing with various Ministry officials while keeping an eye on her son. She was hoping an opportunity to approach her son would present itself. She felt a nudge against her mind and realized it was the Dark Lord. He never knew how strong an occlumens Narcissa was so when she let her first wall fall to grant him access it never occurred to him that she was providing false memories. He saw her with Hermione and at the D.A. meetings. Now would be the question of whether he would take the bait. He focused on an image of her sitting with the Trio and a few others planning a visit to Hogsmede to meet the twins. They were going to sneak out using the One Eyed Witch passage. She felt him retreat from her mind and felt Hermione stiffen. He was going into her mind to verify what he saw. Hermione didn't have Narcissa's occlumency training and that was the part of the plan that created the biggest issue and in the end provided one of the best solutions. The Dark Lord was pulling volumes of tactical information from Hermione's mind as the walked, easily travelling through the young witch's thoughts. Hermione squeezed Narcissa's arm when he finished letting her know it was done. A few minutes later Marcus Flint came up and asked Hermione for a dance. It was strange that the former Slytherin would ask but Hermione was flattered and accepted. Narcissa understood, this was her chance to talk to Draco.

She approached her son. When she arrived Goyle Jr. looking as moronic as his father, laughed.

Yaxley looked at her and said, "You can take a walk in the arboretum. We will escort you."

Nott stood up and said, "I am coming too." Yaxley went to caution him but he responded, "My father says I don't do enough to please the Dark Lord. If I am there for this I can prove my worth. None of us want to end up like Draco."

The other students nodded and laughed and Hestia poked Draco a bit. Crabbe and Goyle Sr. looked proud of their sons. Amicus spoke, "If our nieces want to go I think it would be good for them. "

Narcissa would have been a fool if she didn't understand they were marching to their deaths but she needed to get her son out of the party if she had a shot of freeing him. She nodded and began to follow but Draco hesitated. Nott gave him a shove.

"Get a move on ferret. We need to have this reunion somewhere besides here."

Draco's head jerked up and looked to Narcissa. She nodded at him and he tried to control his surprise. He followed them out and to the arboretum. Once they arrived Narcissa pulled Draco near her. The Death Eaters focused on the two of them pushing their children behind them.

Yaxley spoke, "The Dark Lord has what he needs, you aren't necessary anymore."

Flint came in with Hermione in tow. He pushed her over to where Narcissa and Draco stood.

"The Dark Lord has picked her mind clean."

Narcissa pulled her close with Draco and Naricissa standing in front of her. She was mostly obscured by the two of them Death Eaters didn't see Hermione pull her wand from Narcissa's robes or put Draco's wand in his belt behind his back.

"I can't believe that you agreed to shag the mudblood. You really think you would ever be accepted back." Alecto sneered.

Teddy Nott stepped forward, "Alecto is right about one thing, you two hooking up is totally weird."

Alecto looked at Teddy who was standing with her nieces. They were now positioned to protect Draco. The other Slytherins had their wands pointed at the Death Eaters as well. The Order members present came running in along with the Patils, McClaggen and numerous Aurors. The Death Eaters were outmatched but reinforcements arrived for them as well. The two sides were facing each other not yet knowing whether they would be battling. A mist set along the floor and the Death Eaters parted to allow Voldemort through. He was flanked by the Lestrages and Dolohov. Bellatrix sneered at Viktor.

"What are you thinking betraying us for her. A mudblood Cissy? Really? You are just like Andy…..a blood traitor whore!"

Only a few in the Order and the D.A. knew what was going on. They were worried that the hatred towards Narcissa would stop people from cooperating and no one knew why Bellatrix was speaking to Viktor that way.

Molly looked at Hermione, "What is she talking about? Cissy?"

"Molly some things are easier seen than explained", with that Viktor, raised a vial of antidote to his lips and began to transform back to herself. The crowd was shocked to see Viktor was Naricissa Malfoy. Lucius stepped forth from the crowd looking disheveled and intoxicated.

"Cissy, what about me?"

"Lucius I am…"

"Wait!" Hestia cut her off and Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle grabbed something from a bag Vincent was carrying. "Ok as you were"

Narcissa rolled her eyes knowing exactly what was behind their backs. It was a small price to pay for their support and her son's life.

"Lucius…..I want a divorce. I am in love with Hermione and I am leaving you for him."

Two flashes went off blinding both Draco and Lucius. Vincent and Gregory stood there smiling with their cameras as Hestia rolled her eyes.

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words ferret…. Now we are even."

Draco was too stunned to answer his friends jibe but Goyle's father was furious, "What the hell are you doing boy?"

"I am over this, I don't want to be a Death Eater and I don't care about your Lord. He can't even conjure a nose, how is he going to rule the world? We quit"

Voldemort came forward furious, "I was just in the little mudblood's mind" He looked at Hermione, "How did you do that? How did you hide those thoughts? You are too young to be that powerful of an occlumens. How did you turn their children?"

He turned to his Death Eaters, "If you want to remain my followers you will kill these traitors."

The room froze as everyone waited to see what they would do. Alecto broke the peace and fired on Flora who deflected the shot easily. Bellatrix sent an avada at Narcissa who ducked and fired back and the room broke out into battles. Goyle and Crabbe's fathers were both defending their sons having chose their family over the Death Eaters. Nott's father was trying to kill him and Blaise's mom kept trying to drag him out of the fight while he was taking down Death Eaters left and right yelling at her to let him go.

The arboretum was filled with shouts and bangs as spells were exchanged throughout. Voldemort had attacked what he considered the offending party and pursued Hermione who surprised him by easily deflecting his attacks. He reverted to one of his favorite and shot a bolt of fiendyre which Hermione deflected with a wall of ice. She sent the remaining shards of ice and snow back at Voldemort who shook them off. He conjured Devil's Snare from the ground which bound Hermione's legs and arms. Hermione's wand hand was bound so she wandlessly cast an incendio destroying the vines of the Devil's Snare. She turned the smoldering ashes into lion which charged Voldemort burning brighter as it neared. Voldemort shot a purple jet at the lion tearing the ashes back apart. The two began to rapid fire spells blocking and dodging as they went. The combatants stayed out of the way of the great battle and focused on staying alive.

Hestia was one who was focusing on staying alive. She jumped out of the way of some debris and sent a shot at Alecto freeing up Flora to run into the fray and take on the Lestrange brothers. Alecto deflected the spell and sent one back which Hestia dodged. She looked at Ginny whom she had been practicing with frequently. Ginny was battling Yaxley and when she saw Hestia's she nodded her understanding. Hestia traded one or two more spells with Alecto and then screamed "Now" Ginny fired at the Carrow woman and Hestia hit Yaxley. Both went down as neither had expected it. Ginny jumped in to help Neville and Hestia and Greg found themselves face to face with Lucius. Goyle Sr. stood in front of his son but Narcissa grabbed his hand.

"This isn't your battle, it's mine." Narcissa and Lucius began to duel. His anger fueled him and he planned to end both his wife and his son that evening. He would win his way back into his Lord's graces and make a new family. He notice Bellatrix looking at him, maybe the Dark Lord would give her to him as a gift. Rod couldn't sire a child but he could. He was so engrossed in his victorious thoughts he missed Narcissa's well timed kick. Goyle and Crabbe jrs. Both grabbed themselves in sympathy as he went down as did several Order members and a couple of Death Eaters. The kick was brutal.

"I guess Draco will be an only child after all" Vincent quipped.

Draco was taking on his Aunt Bella with the help of Hestia. They were struggling to keep up with the dark and furious witch who was frenzied with anger and hate. She was easily backing up both of them and Hestia knocked Draco down taking a spell in the arm protecting him. Her arm was bleeding profusely. Fortunately Severus Snape had taken on Bellatrix and Draco quickly applied several healing spells to the fallen witch. All of a sudden the Death Eaters winced and grabbed their arms. Voldemort and Hermione were at an impass, neither gaining ground. He sneered at her.

"I have no idea what games you play but I noticed neither your leader nor your savior stood with you in battle. You fight well but I wonder how the Order will fair in the hands of a mudblood schoolgirl. We will meet again child."

With that he turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared. The Death Eaters made a mass exodus but quite a few were already unconscious or dead. Lucius was curled into a ball whimpering at Narcissa's feet and Bellatrix was too fixated on killing Severus to leave. The two hadn't even slowed down their duel and she was still throwing curse after curse at him. Severus was laughing and taunting her.

The Order quickly subdued Bellatrix and Severus went off to sulk mumbling about them being killjoys.

Rufus Scrimageour who had been dueling with Fenir Greyback throughout the battle walked up to Hermione, "what the hell is going on here?"

Before anyone could answer Hestia ran up to Narcissa and began to kiss her passionately. Everyone in the room looked on with disbelief except for the few that knew the plan.

Hermione turned to the couple who had yet to part for air, "what was it you said Narcissa? Some things are easier seen than explained" Hermione, Crabbe and Goyle Jrs, Flora and Hestia Carrow, Blaise Zabini and Teddy Nott all pulled out vials and drank them. A few seconds later everyone was looking at Dumbledore, Harry, Neville, Luna, Hermione (who had moved to Narcissa's neck much to Draco's dismay), Remus Lupin and Mad Eye Moody.

"Headmaster you may want to transfigure your evening wear"

"Oh thank you Severus, indeed. This really doesn't flatter my figure" Dumbledore quickly changed Hermione's evening gown to robes. "Rufus, why don't we go for a walk and I will fill you in."

The two walked off to discuss the matter while the others looked on in disbelief. Crabbe and Goyle's fathers and Blaise's mother were being comforted by Molly and Arthur. They were relieved to know their children were safe at Hogwarts and had just been slipped some sleeping potion but like it or not, they had just switched sides. Ron and Harry had magically developed the pictures of Lucius and Draco and were having a bit of fun with Draco who looked like he was praying for the floor to swallow him alive.

Knowing there was much to sort out but that they were safe for now Hermione pulled Narcissa off to a corner while the wounded were attended to and the Order and Headmaster were left to deal with the aftermath.

"I do love you Hermione. I am glad everyone knows"

Hermione took her hands, "You're only saying that because you haven't done Christmas at the Burrow yet."

Narcissa wrinkled her nose at the thought, "I guess I am going to have to adapt to my new life. You're worth it. It looks like we will have a battle to fight but I think you might have gained more than a few unwitting allies tonight. You pulled Crabbe and Goyle and their sons will follow. Teddy will be furious to know his father tried to kill him and might flip as well. Blaise and his mother are now yours as well. The Carrow twins might stay true but we will see. One thing is for sure…..I will always be standing next to you."

She wrapped her arms around waist and leaned in for a kiss. She felt the world melt away as their lips met. She knew that she was in for an uphill battle but the woman she was holding was worth it.


End file.
